


The Target Interludes

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-05-22
Packaged: 2018-01-25 22:37:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1665059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of shorts taking place after The Target, following Vlad and Danny's relationship.</p><p>Several months have passed since the hit on his father stopped, and Danny reflects on his life after everything that happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Relaxing Moments

**Author's Note:**

> The response to All Ships Month 2013 Day 12 Babysitting is a part of this series.

Danny chewed on the end of his pen, frustration building inside of him as he stared down at the textbook before him. The words were beginning to lose meaning the longer he stared at them, which only added to his frustration. He knew it was important for him to catch up on everything that he was supposed to learn over the last four years if he had gone to school, and he really did want to learn all of it, but sometimes his brain just didn't want to absorb any more information. His parents, his sister, his friends, his boyfriend - he blushed at that last one - all told him that he didn't have to rush. He could take his time and go for his GED when he was ready. He didn't have to try cramming four years into a matter of months. But he wanted to catch up on the life he thought he lost as quickly as possible.

He had lots of support though. His parents would pull themselves away from their work of trying to make relations with ghosts better and training people on how to handle violent ghosts to help him. They had the help and support of Pamela Manson, which was good because the rest of Amity Park still considered her to be an upstanding citizen who was involved in plenty of charities and organizations. They didn't know that she had once been an assassin but gave up that life when she got pregnant with Sam.

His friends would study with him, though he was so far behind them that sometimes he felt like he was only slowing them down, but they would deny it and say they liked helping him. Jazz kept offering to tutor him, but Danny refused. He appreciated her offer and he loved her dearly, but she was at college, and he wanted her to stay focus on her own work load. He did enjoy getting to chat with her either on the phone or through video chat on the computer.

Vlad was probably the one that helped him study the most. He had moved to Amity Park after selling his castle in Wisconsin. Danny sometimes still couldn't believe he would give up the castle, but Vlad assured him there was nothing keeping him in Wisconsin and it was much better for him to make the move and be nearer to his friends and Danny. Vlad bought a fairly nice, though small, house that he lived comfortably in, and Danny enjoyed visiting him there. He also took over the Amity Park based company Axiom Labs and started development, with the help of Danny's parents, on ghost hunting equipment, though much of it was used for protection, like personal shields for people so that they could keep violent ghosts out of their homes. Other inventions were meant to capture or stun ghosts so that they could contained, instead of weapons designed to cause severe pain to the ghosts.

Danny was glad for all the home studying because when he went out, he usually got asked a ton of questions. Police and local news reporters pestered them about what happened to him. But Vlad and his parents assured him that if he stuck to the story and repeated the vague details that wouldn't lead them to a definite suspect, that the police would eventually have to call it a cold case and give up because they couldn't afford to waste resources hunting down a suspect, especially one that didn't exist. Those four months felt endless, and Danny kept inside as much as possible to avoid the reporters. His sudden revival simply wouldn't be ignored by the press for quite some time.

Visiting Casper High wasn't a very fun experience either. Danny knew the people in his life had their own lives to deal with, and he hated having them drop everything because he needed help. He went to the high school after hours, since he didn't want to bug Lancer in the middle of school when he would probably be teaching a class. He found that he really liked the teacher and vice-principal. Lancer didn't treat him like an idiot, none of them did, and he took his time explaining things whenever Danny was stuck on something. Danny felt relaxed when he was talking with Lancer, and he really enjoyed when they got into long discussions about books.

But the part that wasn't so fun about those trips was when he would get stopped by some of the other students that lingered in the hall. When the news that he was still alive came out, they all wanted to know the story. They asked him tons of questions that all felt overwhelming to him when all he wanted was to ask Lancer a question about math or something. They wanted to know what it was like to be kidnapped. Did they think it would be some sort of holiday? Did they consider him lucky for getting to skip out on four years of high school? Because he could tell them it was no picnic and he certainly would have liked to attend school like everyone else. They asked if his kidnapper abused him at all. Was he tortured? One bold man, a jock by the looks of it, wanted to know if the kidnapper had raped him. That question almost drove Danny to use his ghost powers against the jock, disgusted by the notion.

Sam and Tucker tried to protect him from that kind of questioning as much as possible, but sometimes they were gone by the time he arrived at the high school. Dash was surprisingly protective of him, blocking Danny from people if they were crowding around him too much. Then he would give Danny a pat on the shoulder and nod and let him be. Paulina would furiously yell at people, telling them that Danny didn't have to answer their questions and they shouldn't be poking into his private life so much, to respect Danny's feelings because he probably didn't want to keep reliving the experience to quench their curiosity. Danny was very surprised that she would come to his defensive, but perhaps it was because Dash was defending him. Or maybe she had changed a lot since he knew her at the beginning of freshmen year. It didn't surprise him as much when Kwan would shoo away people so that Danny could pass without harassment through the halls. Afterward, he would give Danny that concerned, puppy dog look and ask him if he was all right. That was all Kwan seemed to really care about: that Danny was okay. Danny was glad to have them around, even though he didn't really need them to treat him like some fragile thing that would break if people talked to him too much. The whole thing did add some realness to their story though, because people did see him as that poor abused boy that was held captive for four years, so they didn't question too hard how true that story really was. That didn't stop Danny from feeling frustrated about the whole thing at times, but he realized how important it was for people not to have a reason to think the kidnapping story wasn't true.

After the excitement of his returned died down some, things improved, and Danny didn't feel like he had to stay holed up at home or Vlad's house to hide out from all the questions. Danny smiled fondly, thinking about how he was able to go out in public with Vlad, though they usually had Danny's parents accompanying them to keep anyone from suspecting that there was anything happening between a man in his forties and an eighteen year old. Danny certainly didn't want to cause any trouble for Vlad that way, though he _was_ eighteen, and in most places, that made him completely legal.

"Oh, come on!" a shout came from downstairs.

Danny stared at his textbook, internally debating what to do. After a few minutes, he shoved a paper into the textbook to mark his page and slammed it shut. He deserved a small break. Practicing with Vlad taught him that he could use some of his ghost powers even while still in his human form. Turning intangible, he phased right through his bed and the floor of his room and down into the kitchen. His mother smiled at him when she spotted him, pulling a lasagna out of the oven.

"Smells great, Mom," Danny said, and it was a relief that his parents knew everything about what happened to him. He hated keeping the truth from them when he thought that he was really dead, but at that time, he didn't want to cause them any more pain by having them know that their son not only died but became what they had hunted all these years. Now his parents were communicating with ghosts and learning far more than they could have imagined almost a year ago.

"Tell your father and Vlad that dinner should be ready soon," his mother said.

Danny bobbed his head in a nod then headed into the front room where the two men were arguing at the television. "What happened this time?" He dropped onto the couch, sitting between his father and boyfriend. Vlad's hand found his own, and they laced their fingers together. That was about as much affection they could show in the presence of his parents, who wanted to be sure that their friend wasn't taking advantage of their son.

"The ref made _another_ bad call," Vlad grumbled, most unhappy with the referee in the football game.

"Looks like I'm gonna win the bet," his father said with a grin that only further soured Vlad's mood.

"Mom says dinner should be ready soon." Danny leaned on Vlad, enjoying the other half ghost's presence. He ignored the frowning glare that his father sent their way. Danny and Vlad hadn't done much more than hand holding, cuddling, and some kissing since everything came out. They were still finding their way in this relationship, and neither of them wanted to just jump into bed, although the idea _was_ appealing. Danny turned his gaze up to Vlad. _Very_ appealing.

"I thought you were busy studying." Vlad stared down at him with one of his eyebrows lifted, though he didn't seem to be too upset to have Danny leaning on him.

"I've been studying since one. My brain needs a break." Danny stared at the television in time to watch one of the players run into the end zone. When he thought about the time spent constantly being on watch to protect his father, all the pain and frustration and anxiety that came with it and not being able to tell his parents the truth, Danny was very thankful for peaceful, relaxing moments like this one.


	2. Some Secrets Still Kept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny gets a bit of free time to hang out with his friends.

"Man, you missed some great times," Tucker said, still snickering after he told the story of the time he helped the jocks get back at their rival school for stealing their mascot right before the big game.

Danny nodded along, picking at the remainder of his fries. Sometimes, it was easy to fall back into old habits with his friends, like things were completely normal and no time had passed. Then there were the awkward moments for him where the reminder was shoved in his face so that he couldn't avoid it. For him, four years passed thinking that he was just another ghost, having prematurely lost his life in an accident in his parents' laboratory. For his friends, they mourned his loss, but they still had their lives to live. He didn't blame them for having good times in his absence. Was he jealous? Yeah, but he wasn't going to get angry and yell at them. He didn't want them to be forever saddened by his passing. He did want them to be happy again.

But that didn't stop him from feeling out of place with them whenever he had those spikes of jealousy when he listened to the stories of things he missed in those four years. Tucker and Sam got to hang out with the popular crowd? As a freshman, Danny would have done _anything_ to get invited to hang out with the A list. And here Tucker was, telling him about all the great times he had tagging along with Dash and his football buddies. Popularity didn't actually mean that much now. Sam and Tucker were heading off to college somewhere at the end of August, and Danny hoped to be following them the next year. His studies were going well if a bit overwhelming. Jazz said when she returned next week from college, she was going to spend most of her summer helping him. He felt guilty that he would eat up most of her free time, but he had deflected her help the entire time that she was still at college. Besides, it would be nice to have some time to hang out with her again, even if it was mostly spent studying. Christmas break felt entirely too short.

"That-" Danny knew he was speaking a bit tight lipped, his jaw clenching just a touch, but it was frustrating to know how much he missed sometimes.

"Hey, Fenton." Dash slapped him hard on the back, cutting off Danny's words before he could really think a response that didn't come off sounding bitter.

"Hi, Dash." Danny tilted his head up, his brow creasing just slightly at the sight of the jock with his buddy Kwan standing behind him. That was another strange thing to him: Dash randomly approaching him, and not for the purposes of bullying him. Dash actually invited him to a party last weekend, but his parents refused to let him go, stating that he didn't need distractions, especially at an unsupervised party where there might be under aged drinking. Danny had to roll his eyes at that, but there was a part of him that had to be a bit happy to have his parents being all, well, parent like with their strictness. It was strange to think, but he really missed being with his parents, and more importantly being their son. Dash, thankfully, didn't seem offended that Danny couldn't make it.

"Uh, so," Dash rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck in his struggle to get his words out.

"My sister will be back in town next week," Danny said, trying to bite back a smirk. Even if they were on good terms now, he had a feeling Dash wouldn't appreciate any teasing from him. "And I'll try to convince her not to spend all her time acting like my personal tutor so that you have the opportunity to ask her out."

"Right." Dash nodded, trying to look like a big bad jock though he had a slight flush upon his cheeks and he wouldn't look at Danny and his friends. "Thanks." He patted Danny on the shoulder then turned to Kwan, who wore a big grin. "Shut up," he muttered, smacking Kwan on the shoulder as they headed back to the A list table at the Nasty Burger.

"How many times has he asked you when Jazz will be back?" Sam asked, giving her cup a shake as the ice rattled against each other. Turning her gaze onto him, she lifted an eyebrow in question.

His mouth pursed as Danny rolled his eyes toward the ceiling in thought. "About once a week for the past month or so." He shrugged then like it wasn't a big deal. "I'm just happy that he doesn't want to shove my head in a toilet and flush anymore." He glanced between his friends, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Well, I'll let you two get on with your date." He stood up, gathering up his trash.

"What?" Tucker flushed darkly. "We weren't-"

"Tucker, it's fine. I need to get back to studying anyway. And I don't want you two to resent me for intruding when you want some alone time." Going home also had the advantage of getting to spend some time with Vlad, who usually visited in the evening to discuss stuff with his parents about their steps toward bettering relationships between humans and ghosts and protecting Amity Park from the more violent ghosts. Danny smiled at that thought, eager to see the man again, even if Vlad was going to give him that stern "you need to go and focus on your studies" glare. "Stop giving me that look." He frowned when his friends looked guilty and like they wanted to argue with him. "You two are a couple. I'm happy for you both! And I do know that you'll be wanting to be alone to do all that couple stuff sometimes. It really doesn't bother me if you want me to leave so you can have a date. I do appreciate that you care enough to worry about my feelings. But I'm serious. It's fine."

"If you say so." Tucker continued to frown, but then he grinned. "Maybe you'll let us meet that boyfriend of yours someday. Then we can go on double dates."

Danny laughed, but he felt an awkward twisting inside of him. That was another thing that he hadn't been completely honest with his friends about: he was in a relationship with Vlad. He wasn't sure how his friends would react when they discovered that fact, but he hoped they would be understanding. He still wasn't ready to tell them quite yet though.

"I'll see you later." Danny gave them a wave before he walked over to the trash can by the exit to throw away his garbage. He smiled as he stepped out into the late afternoon. Life wasn't exactly perfect, but he was happy with the way things were going, ever since he learned that he was still alive.


	3. Not Halfway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meetings drag on, and Danny feels impossibly bored by them.

Danny reached up, covering his mouth as he yawned tiredly. He had lost focus on what was being said hours ago. Or it have only been ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity as the two groups talked. He was pretty sure at least an hour had passed though. Part of him wanted to be back home working on his studies. Sam and Tucker were busy getting things ready for when they left to go off to college, and Jazz, despite all her pestering to tutor him, was spending some time with Dash. Danny smiled somewhat at that fact. Back at the start of freshmen year, before the accident, Danny never would have imagined that he would be happy at the thought of his sister dating someone like Dash, but the jock was actually really nice to her, far different from the impression Danny first had of him.

An elbow to the ribs snapped his attention back to the present, and Danny turned bright green eyes onto the man standing beside him, blinking innocently as if he wasn't about to nod off during the meeting.

"You're supposed to be paying attention," Vlad mumbled quietly to him, appearing in his ghostly form, which Danny realized did a far better job at hiding his identity than his own, which only changed his hair and eye color. No one seemed to make the connection between Phantom and Fenton though, so Danny wasn't worrying too hard about it.

"I'm trying," Danny murmured back, frowning at the older half ghost. Trying and failing as the talks went on and on, lulling him toward sleep from the boredom of it.

"This is important, you know." Vlad's red eyes glanced over to the long table set in the middle of the room where Danny's parents, along with Sam's mother Pamela, sat talking to the mayor and his council. Danny and Vlad - Or more specifically, Phantom and Plasmius were there to represent the ghosts as they worked out details on addressing the issue of keeping Amity Park safe while also allowing ghosts the freedom to visit the town without harassment. Of course, any ghost that came to Amity Park with the intention of doing harm to the people that lived there was subject to being hunted down by Danny's parents. And Pamela Manson. They were still working on recruiting reliable people to work under them. People that weren't like the Guys in White and only saw ghosts as evil and attacked without thought the moment a ghost appeared before them.

"I know." Somehow Danny managed not to groan in his frustration. Later, they would have to go back to the Ghost Zone and relay the information to other ghosts. They had somehow become the mediators between ghosts and humans. His father's brilliant idea. Something about the two of them having the unique perspective of seeing both sides, that of humans and that of ghosts. Right now, Danny just felt like it was another thing on top of his already full load of trying to catch up with his life.

The red haired woman sitting next to the mayor tapped at her watch.

"Ah, that's going to have to be all for today," said the mayor, a short, balding man with a bushy mustache. "I have another meeting I must get to. We can pick up where we left off next time."

Danny watched for a moment as the two parties shook hands and said parting words. He bobbed his head and shook hands to the officials that came up to him and Vlad. When they were no long the subject of anyone's attention, Danny turned toward Vlad and leaned in close to him.

"Now that we're done here, how about you and me sneak off to somewhere a bit more private?" Danny suggested with a small smirk tugging at his mouth. While they were in their ghost forms, no one had any reason to argue about their age difference. For all they knew, Phantom could be older than Plasmius but simply died at a younger age. Danny, of course, would prefer to be able to go on dates with Vlad as a normal human, but he would take a date in their ghost forms until their relationship wasn't something at which most people frowned.

Vlad gave the room another sweeping glance. By now, the mayor and his council were gone, and Danny's parents were all that remained, still running over a few details in the papers that they would probably spend the evening discussing with Vlad. The corner of his mouth turned upward, and he stepped back, pulling Danny with him through the wall as he extended his invisibility to the younger half ghost so that no one outside the building would see them if they even bothered to look up.

"Where exactly did you have in mind?" Vlad questioned curiously, utilizing hard plates of ectoplasm to walk in the air above the streets.

Danny always enjoyed seeing new ways to use his powers, mimicking Vlad as he walked along beside the older half ghost. He paused, twisting around to face Vlad as he wrapped his arms around the other ghost's neck. "Well," he said with a smirk, "I have been feeling rather frustrated lately."

"Danny-"

Vlad's tone held a hint of warning, but Danny silenced it as he sealed their mouths together. His hands slid up Vlad's throat to cup his face, his thumbs stroking over the bluish flesh of his boyfriend's cheeks. Vlad's hands rest on his shoulders, to push him away, but there was no real conviction in the attempt. Danny grinned into kiss, sucking Vlad's lower lip into his mouth and nipping gently at it with his teeth. He moved away from Vlad's mouth, kissing down his chin and nipping along his throat as he listened to the low growl rumbling in the back of Vlad's throat.

"Danny," Vlad said again, this time with a hint of a moan, his hands strongly gripping Danny's hips, "we shouldn't."

Danny sighed, pressing his head into the crook of Vlad's neck. "I just wanted a kiss," he mumbled. "I know we're taking things slow, but you don't need to be so shy about a simple kiss."

"I'm merely concerned." Vlad touched a hand under Danny's chin and tilted his head upward. "Our relationship is still young, and I certainly don't want to seem like I'm taking advantage of you."

Danny laughed under his breath. It felt more like _he_ was trying to take advantage of Vlad sometimes. Vlad would protest the simplest of affections sometimes, and Danny felt frustrated over it. "You know, life's all about heart break. It's something that happens when you allow someone into your heart and they betray you. It hurts, and it's certainly not something I _really_ want to experience. But isn't it stunting my growth to constantly push me away for fear of breaking my heart?" He frowned, arching one eyebrow at the older half ghost. "And I'm not some fragile thing that you have to keep protected from the world." He kissed Vlad again. "Let's not do this halfway."

Vlad sighed, his breath washing over Danny's face. "I suppose you do bring up a good point." He leaned down, pressing his mouth to Danny's, who happily returned the kiss.


	4. Overheard Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny talks with his friends, and Vlad overhears something he said.

"You know," Dash said awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck as he stood by Jazz, "I thought about, um, talking to you after the whole thing that happened with your brother." He didn't look at her, shifting his weight uncomfortably. "But I kind of figured it would be," he hunched up his shoulders, "inappropriate. In a way. Like being your shoulder to cry on so that you would foster feelings for me." He frowned when he finally lifted his gaze toward her. "I didn't want a relationship built on something like that with you."

"Ow!" Danny winced as he was led out of hearing range of his sister and Dash by the ear. When they reached the kitchen and he was released, he rubbed at his ear. "What was that for?"

"Spying on your sister now?" Sam quirked an eyebrow up as she folded her arms and glared at Danny.

Danny frowned at her. "Well, she _is_ my sister," he pointed out in a grumble. "Dash might be a good guy, but that doesn't mean I don't worry about my sister getting hurt. Relationships aren't without their problems. I just want to be there for her the way I haven't been there since the accident."

"From the looks of things," Tucker said, peeking back through the doorway into the front room where Dash and Jazz were still talking, "I don't think you have to worry too much. Dash seems determined to air everything out so that he has no secrets with Jazz. He _really_ likes your sister. Like _a lot_. He doesn't want to hurt her."

"That doesn't make me any less concerned. It's a brother thing." Danny shrugged. "Jazz is the same way with the person I'm seeing." Danny almost laughed when he remembered how she made sure to remind the older half ghost that if he hurt her brother, he would regret it. She didn't really have anything to worry about though. Vlad didn't want to do anything to hurt him.

"Speaking of that," Tucker suddenly threw an arm around his friend's shoulders with a wide grin, "when do you think you might find someone?"

Danny frowned at his friend. "I told you I already have a boyfriend."

"Who we've never met," Sam pointed out, giving him a suspicious look.

"Yeah," Tucker jumped in to agree. "You barely ever talk about him. How do we know he ever really exists?"

Sam placed a hand on Danny's shoulder with concern in her eyes. "You don't have to pretend that you have a boyfriend with us."

Danny turned his gaze away, hoping his friends wouldn't be able to discover the truth in his expression. "I haven't really even had the time to hang out with him." He shrugged, though that wasn't quite true. He did get to see Vlad often, but actual dates were fewer than he liked. "You know, busy trying to catch up on my education so I can get into college next year." He was still a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to start college with his friends, who were leaving in a few days, which was why his parents decided to throw this little get together as one last celebration before his friends and sister went off to college. But that disappointment wasn't going to discourage him from studying hard.

Tucker lifted an eyebrow at that. "Is it Kwan?" He turned to Sam and grinned. "It's totally Kwan. You owe me ten bucks."

"It's not-" Danny shook his head then paused to eye his friends. "You're betting on who I'm dating?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "You won't tell us anything. We've only been guessing at who it could be. Tucker thinks it's Kwan. I, on the other hand, think it's Luke from our history class freshmen year."

"I haven't even seen Luke since then," Danny reminded, wondering how Sam even came up with that idea. "And Kwan is not gay."

Tucker shared a look with Sam before turning his gaze back onto Danny. "You can't really blame us for being curious. You haven't said a word about this guy you've been seeing. And like you said, you've been spending most of your time trying to catch up on your education. Which means you've left very little time for him. What if he isn't happy about that? What if he goes off to college this year and falls in love with someone else? What if you do that next year?"

"And the two of you aren't worried about the long distance thing?" Danny countered with a skeptical lifting of his eyebrows. "What exactly do you think is going to happen anyway? I head off to college next year," he kept his fingers crossed on that, "and meet someone else and fall madly in love."

"What's that about falling madly in love?"

The voice made Danny stiffen with dread. He slowly cast a glance over his shoulder as Vlad entered with his father, who was carrying an empty bowl that needed to be refilled with chips. A nervous laugh fluttered out of him at the look Vlad gave him with mouth pressed thin and his nostrils doing that little flare they did when he was displeased about something but trying not to show it. Danny swallowed tightly because he knew the comment probably hit on Vlad's fears.

"Come on, Vladdie!" His father grabbed hold of Vlad with one arm, dragging the man against his big frame. "Don't you remember our freshmen year at college?"

"Yes," Vlad answered dryly with a flat glare. "But I think we're remembering it entirely differently."

His father merely laughed and slapped Vlad on the back. Then he walked out of the kitchen with a fresh bowl of chips.

"Anyway," Sam said after an awkward silent beat, "let's go play some videogames." She grabbed hold of her friends' arms to drag them out of the kitchen.

"Uh, I'll grab some drinks to bring up," Danny offered, managing to pry his arm free. His friends exchanged a glance before shrugging it off and leaving the room. When he thought they were well out of hearing range, Danny crossed the room to where Vlad stood leaning against the counter, well out of sight of the doorway. "Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I didn't mean it like that. I was being sarcastic. They were kind of prying into it, and I didn't want them figuring out who I'm really dating." _Not yet anyway_.

"Danny," Vlad said, placing a hand on the young half ghost's shoulder, "I'm aware that what you said is entirely possible. You're young and you haven't had a lot of experience with dating. When you go off to college, you might meet someone that sweeps you off your feet and you fall madly in love with."

"I don't want to fall in love with anyone else." Danny frowned up at the man. "I love you."

"What I'm trying to say, Danny, is that we can't predict the future. If you were to fall in love with someone else, I wouldn't stand in your way." Vlad pulled Danny closer, brushing his lips over the young man's forehead. "I'd want for you to be happy."

Danny tilted his head up. "You're the one that makes me happy." He stared firmly into Vlad's eyes. "I'm not going to fall for anyone else when I go off to college." He knew it was dangerous with Sam and Tucker upstairs and Dash in the front room, but he didn't care at that moment. He leaned up and kissed Vlad, who hesitated before returning the kiss.


	5. Coffee Chocolate Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As college approaches, Vlad and Danny spend a relaxing evening under the stars.

Danny stared up at the stars scattered across the night sky, picking out various constellations. After all his years of observing the sky, he practically had them all mapped out in his mind. He could close his eyes and still pretty much point out exactly where each constellation was located. When a warm mug pressed into his hands, Danny jolted from his stargazing. He dropped his gaze and smiled when he saw the swirl of whipped cream topping the hot chocolate being handed to him.

"Thanks," Danny said, turning a shy smile up to the man seated beside him on the roof of the house.

Vlad returned the smile with a fond look in his eyes. "I'm going to miss these quiet nights when you leave next month."

The still moment nearly shattered after that statement. They had avoided actually talking about it for the last six months. The year flew by quickly with most of his time devoted between his studies and acting as a representative of the Ghost Zone with Vlad. He still kept in touch with his friends. They chatted on the phone or texted each other a lot to talk about what was going on in their lives. He missed hanging out with them and just relaxing and playing videogames or watching movies. But Vlad provided a fairly good distraction. In a month's time though, he would be starting his freshmen year at college, and he wouldn't have either his friends or Vlad. It sounded lonely.

"You," Danny leaned a little into the older half ghost, "could always visit. I could sneak out at night and meet you for dates and stuff."

"I think we could probably work something like that out." Vlad took a sip from his own mug, coffee from the smell of it.

Danny drank from his mug, savoring the warmth and chocolate taste topped with the sweetness of the whipped cream. It was a warm summer night, but Vlad must have realized that Danny liked hot chocolate any time of the year, even if Christmas hadn't always been his favorite holiday. After his time thinking he was solely a ghost, Danny really missed when his mother used make hot chocolate for him. He could always count on that after playing in the snow or going ice skating. It simply brought up good memories in an otherwise miserable season for him.

"Do you know what you'll be studying?" Vlad questioned curiously, lifting an eyebrow as he stared down at the man leaning against him. "What sort of career you'll be aiming for?"

Danny lowered the mug as the questions danced about in his head. In all his struggles to catch up with his life, he hadn't really sat down to give what he wanted to do with his life any real hard thought. Growing up, he had the dream of becoming an astronaut, but he knew after what happened that dream was gone. He discussed it at length with Lancer, but the teacher and vice principal informed him that it was highly unlikely that the space program would accept him. Lancer actually looked miserable about having to tell Danny that, like he wished he could do something to make his student's dream come true.

His shoulder rolled in a shrug. "I was thinking I could probably take some courses in studying the paranormal," Danny explained. "Mom and Dad would probably want me to continue leading the charge of maintaining peace between humans and ghosts. Engineering too. I know a bit about my parents work on ghost hunting inventions, but I think it would be good to take some courses so that I have a better understanding of that kind of stuff." He chewed on his lip, mulling over ideas in his head. "I really liked talking to Lancer about books and stuff, so I thought I could probably get a degree in literature. Maybe that's not really worth anything, but I could always fall back on being a teacher."

"If it makes you happy, then it is worth everything in the world."

"That was so corny," Danny said with a light chuckle as he shook his head. When he heard the man give an amused hum, he lifted his head with a frown stretching across his face. "What? Why are you laughing at me?"

The corner of Vlad's mouth quirked upward. Then he leaned in, and with a swipe of his tongue, he licked off the small dollop of whipped cream upon the young man's nose. His mouth pulled wider into a grin as he watched the color darkening upon Danny's face. They both set aside their mugs, to keep from spilling their drinks, before they tentatively leaned in, brushing their lips against one another in a hesitant kiss. Danny could taste the bitterness of Vlad's coffee upon his lips. The older half ghost liked it black. While he never cared for coffee, at least it didn't appeal to him at the moment, he enjoyed tasting it upon his boyfriend. Their mouths pressed more firmly together as Danny lifted his hand, cupping Vlad's cheek.

The clearing of a throat made them jerk apart. Vlad wore a guilty look while embarrassment had Danny burying his face in his hands. He didn't even want to turn around to his parents standing behind them.

"Well," Vlad said, managing to sound calm and collected as Danny's parents came to join them, his father making a point to separate the two of them by forcing his way between them. "Technically, we weren't under your roof. We're on top of it."

"Don't get smart with your loopholes," his father said grumpily before he took a sip from his own mug.

"Jack, I think a kiss here and there is all right," his mother said, sitting down on Danny's other side. "They aren't doing anything more than that. Danny may be young, but he has shown great maturity."

"Can we not talk about it? This is embarrassing." Danny groaned. Though he supposed he should be happy that his parents liked his choice of boyfriend, even if they still didn't like the age difference.

The rest of the evening was nice. They discussed things like the stars and what college life was like and ghosts and other things as they drank coffee, and hot chocolate for Danny, and simply soaked in the quiet evening where no interruptions were popping up to ruin it.


	6. Long Library Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the end of the year coming up, Danny can't wait to head home for summer.

"I'll catch up with you tomorrow then."

Danny lifted his gaze from the book he was reading. "Oh," he said, a little caught off guard since he got absorbed in his studying. "Okay. See you later." With a grin, he waved goodbye to the other man.

His first year of college was winding down with only another two and a half months left before he could return to Amity Park for the summer. He looked forward to seeing Tucker and Sam again, but he practically vibrated in his seat when he thought about being able to see Vlad on a more regular basis. They had met up a few times during the months he spent away at college, and of course, there was winter break, which had seemed far too short at the time.

But the year hadn't been all about longing to be with Vlad and his friends and family again. Danny really enjoyed the classes he was taking, and back when he first started high school, he couldn't imagine that he would actually like school. He even made some new friends. Isaac, the man who had just left, was in his paranormal studies classes, and they had hit it off right off the bat. A lot of the rest of the class seemed to be only taking the class for the credit, and thinking it would be an easy A.

Isaac, on the other hand, was genuinely interested in everything that was being taught in the class. Danny could spend hours discussing what the teacher talked about in class with Isaac, though there were plenty of times when their conversations would stray from the paranormal and into the supernatural. They had a long standing debate over which movie monster was better: vampires or werewolves? Danny stood firmly on werewolves, but he did feel a little like he was betraying Vlad by not siding with vampires.

"You're Danny, right?"

He barely returned to his reading when he heard the question posed to him. Danny turned and blinked up at the woman that stood beside him. "Uh, yeah, that's me." He laughed awkwardly, glancing around the library.

"I'm Clare." She took a seat at the table without even bothering to ask him for permission to join him. "We have that literature class together."

"I know who you are." It was impossible not to know who she was. Clare was pretty, and she tended to be flanked by at least two men whenever Danny saw her outside of class. "We debated what the author was trying to get across in that last book we read."

Clare blinked her dark brown eyes at him, like for a moment she didn't know what he meant. "Right, of course." She laughed with a roll of her eyes. "Silly me. I forgot about that." She leaned back in her chair, flicking her sleek ebony hair over one shoulder. "Well, I remembered that you seemed to be at the top of the class, and I've been struggling. So I was wondering-"

"You're not about to bribe me to do your work for you or something, are you?" Danny frowned, his brow knitting in his displeasure of that idea.

"No, no," Clare said, shaking her head with another little laugh. "I was thinking more like you could tutor me or something."

"Oh." Danny stared, taken by surprised and failing to think of an actual response right away. "Sure. I guess. When do you want to start?"

"We can start right now." Clare got out the book they were currently reading in their class and her notebook. She grinned happily at him, like she couldn't even fathom that she might be cutting into his own study time. "I was so lost today in class." She flipped open her notebook and slapped it down on the table with a smack that drew a few glances for the disturbance to the otherwise quiet library.

With an internal sigh of resignation, Danny scooted his chair a little closer to her and glanced over her notes. The page was a mess of random snippets from the class discussion and doodles of various things like little hearts and flowers. There was a fairly good drawing of a merman in the lower corner of the page. Ignoring that, Danny decided to dive right into helping her understand what she needed to know about the book. He hoped that he could finish this impromptu tutor session with enough time to finish his own studying before the library closed for the evening.

Time actually felt like it ground to a halt. Or maybe that he was stuck on a loop. Danny would finish explaining something in the book. Then Clare would ask him to explain it again because she hadn't quite understood it all as she scribbled down notes from their conversation as quickly as she could. She had _a lot_ of questions, and they weren't all restricted to the book. Danny would be in the middle of saying something when Clare would pipe up with,

"So you like the paranormal? Are you into those creepy horror flicks?"

The questions would throw him off, but Danny answered them and quickly tried to get back on track. During quiet moments as Clare looked up something in the book, Danny glanced around the library. He noticed that some of the men, jocks from the look of them, would send him glowers when they noticed Clare sitting with him. She might not be the most popular woman at the college, but she was definitely close to the top of the list.

"You're really smart." Clare said, leaning toward him.

Danny shrugged awkwardly. "I just had a really good teacher." It was because of Lancer's help that he was able to pick up on various details in the novels they read for class and analyze their meanings for writing well thought out essays.

"Smart and modest." Clare smiled, and Danny nearly jumped out of his seat when he felt a hand on his thigh. "Not to mention cute."

"Uh," Danny mumbled, flustered as heat rose to his cheeks, "aren't you dating Bradley?"

Clare stared at him, and before Danny realized it, she leaned in, catching his mouth before he could jerk away from her, and by then, he was too stunned to do anything. When she pulled away, her mouth curled upward. "Bradley's is an idiot. We broke up last weekend."

"Oh," Danny replied numbly, his mind having trouble understanding what exactly was happening. Then he felt the hand sliding farther up his thigh, and he finally reacted to the situation. He jumped out of the chair, nearly tripping over it in his haste to get away from the woman. "Uh, that's nice that you seem to be interested in me," he said quickly as Clare frowned at him, "but I'm already in a relationship."

"With who?" Clare demanded, her mouth thinning unpleasantly. "I've never seen you with anyone. You've never shown the least bit of interest in someone. At least in terms of physical attraction." She smirked at him. "Which is a shame, because you've got a really good body. Those tight jeans really show off your cute butt nicely."

The heat felt like a fire burning across his cheeks. "He doesn't go to this college," Danny mumbled as he gathered up his books, abandoning the idea of getting any more studying done that night.

"He?" Clare's eyebrows lifted, but she seemed to have the decency not to scream it for the whole library to hear her. Then she sighed. "Ah, now I'm disappointed, _and_ I feel like a fool. I thought you'd be a good boyfriend." She leaned on one arm as she stared up at him. "I hope this guy is at least treating you well."

"He is." Danny shouldered his bag then turned his gaze back onto Clare. "We're really happy together. You're, uh, not going to go around telling everyone about us though, right?" He cringed, worrying about how some of his classmates might treat him if they knew he liked men.

Clare rolled her eyes like she couldn't believe he was asking her that. "I'm not the kind of bitch that goes around outing other people. Besides it's not like you're the _only_ one here that likes people of the same gender."

Danny blinked then slowly sat down again. "Wait. But if you like girls, then why did you hit on me?"

"Because you're cute and smart and nice." Clare laughed when Danny continued to stare at her. "It's not the gender I'm attracted to. It's the person."

Danny breathed out, feeling some of the tension leave him. "I thought this was going to suddenly be awkward between us."

"I promise I won't hit on you again. Though I am still disappointed that you're taken. Think we can still have study sessions every now and then?" Clare gave him a hopeful look.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, that would be okay."

Clare smiled. "Thanks for today. I think I might actually be able to get a passing grade on our next essay."

Danny returned the smile. "Any time. If you don't, I'm going to be very disappointed in myself." After saying their goodbyes, Clare got up and left Danny to return to his own studies. Danny stared down at his book then laughed to himself. When he first entered high school, he would have died if someone as pretty as Paulina approached him wanting to go out with him. He really had changed a lot since then. He smiled when his thoughts turned to Vlad. He really couldn't wait for summer.


	7. Here in Your Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vlad surprises Danny when he takes him out for a real date.

"This is so not what I was expecting," Danny said with an amused chuckle as he struggled to properly hold the chopsticks so that he could pick up one of the pieces of sushi on the long rectangular white plate before him.

"Oh?" Vlad questioned curiously. He took hold of the young half ghost's hand and helped him adjust his hold so that the chopsticks didn't twist around when he tried to pick something up.

The blush already upon his face darkened a few shades, and Danny was overly aware of the arm loosely wrapped around his waist as he sat in the older half ghost's lap. Vlad's hand rested low on his hip, and if he allowed it to slip just a little, it would- Danny forced that kind of thinking out of his head before his body started getting ideas.

With a cough, Danny answered, "When people ask if you want to go out for sushi, they don't usually mean taking a trip through the Ghost Zone to Japan to get the sushi." He managed to snag a piece of sushi between his chopsticks and lifted it to his mouth with his other hand under it, in case he accidentally dropped it.

"There's nothing better than getting sushi in Japan." Vlad's mouth brushed over the nape of Danny's neck, his lips curling in a grin against the young half ghost's skin. It was still wet from their time sitting in the baths of the onsen, and it seemed well worth it since they were both well relaxed now.

Danny stuffed the sushi into his mouth, enjoying the taste as he munched on it. After he swallowed, he set the chopsticks down on the table. Then he twisted around in Vlad's lap, grinning as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck. "Okay. This is probably the best date idea we've had." As much as he enjoyed college and studying and meeting new friends, Clare becoming a good friend in those final two and a half months, it wasn't without its stresses. Then when he returned to Amity Park, he had to get caught up on everything happening with the relations between humans and ghosts. It was nice having this time away from everything that added to his stress and unwind for a while.

"Well, you were complaining about not having a real date," Vlad said, leaning back on his arms as the young half ghost straddled his waist. With the age difference, they didn't want to go out and have people stare at them or mutter rude comments under their breaths. They could be seen dating as ghosts, but there were still plenty of people who would likely scream and run in terror at the sight of a pair of ghosts. "At least here, we have some privacy so we can be as romantic as we like.

The grin remained on Vlad's face as Danny leaned forward to capture his lips in a kiss. Fingers threaded through his still damp silver hair, loose from its usual ponytail after relaxing in the steamy baths. His lips parted when he felt the tongue eagerly prodding at them, and he sighed happily into the kiss as Danny's tongue caressed the roof of his mouth. Danny shifted, pressing closer to the older half ghost with only the thin layers of their yukata separating them. Vlad reached up, cupping the young man's cheek then sliding his hand down the long pale neck and around the back, tugging his boyfriend closer as their mouths moved against one another, tongues stroking each other languishingly. He placed his other hand on Danny's leg, the pale blue yukata with wave patterns along the hem bunching as he moved his hand up the thigh. Danny moaned into the kiss, abandoning his toying with Vlad's hair as he ran his hand down the older half ghost's chest, slipping them inside the matching yukata that Vlad wore so that he could explore the muscles hidden beneath the thin fabric.

They wouldn't go all the way. Not yet. Vlad was definitely as interested as Danny was about progressing further in their relationship, but he believed they still weren't quite ready for that next step. As tempting as it was with such a willing warm body pressed against him. He pulled away from Danny, both of them breathing hard after the passionate kiss. His hand still rested on the young man's thigh too close to his hip, his thumb rubbing absently over the smooth flesh, and Danny groaned deep in his throat as he pressed his forehead to Vlad's. He stared into Vlad's dark blue eyes, and a peaceful silence fell over them.

"Someone kissed me while I was at college." Danny frowned after his sudden announcement as Vlad stilled, tension immediately filling every inch of his body, though he tried to keep his expression neutral. "Before you say anything, let me explain. Since we're never seen together and no one at my college knows I'm actually in a relationship, she thought I was single and decided to take the chance since she thought I was cute and smart and nice and stuff."

"Naturally," Vlad agreed with just a touch of strain in his voice. "I'm not surprised someone would find you attractive."

Danny's cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink. "Anyway, she kissed me, but I explained to her right away that I was in a relationship and very happy. She understands. We're friends now, and she won't be hitting on me again. I should have told you about it right away, but after I got back from college, there was all that ghost stuff to catch up on. I just didn't want to lie to you about it, even if it was through omission."

Vlad didn't respond for several long moments, and the silence made Danny uncomfortable, a cold feeling settling inside him like his stomach was about to turn intangible involuntarily and sink right through his body. Then Vlad released a sigh. "I thought I could contain my jealousy better," he mumbled, shaking his head. "I thought it wouldn't bother me if you found someone else to love."

"But I don't-"

Vlad placed a finger to Danny's mouth to silence him. "I know," he said quietly. "But if hearing about a simple kiss that didn't turn into anything more has me feeling insanely jealous, how would I feel if you _did_ fall for someone else? I thought I could be happy for you, but I find myself not wanting you to be with anyone but me right now."

Danny released a breathy laugh. "Then that's okay because I don't have anyone else I want to be with."

"I do hope that doesn't change any time soon. I don't like this jealous feeling when I think of you kissing other people."

"She kissed me," Danny corrected. "And I only didn't stop her because I was too surprised that someone as pretty as she would be interested in someone like me."

Vlad cupped Danny's face in his hands and gave the young half ghost a very serious look. "You are a truly amazing person, Danny. Not many people could have gone through what you did and come through it a much stronger person. Not only that, but your kindness remained intact. You haven't let any bitterness over the things that happened twist you into some cruel, vengeful spirit. I can't imagine how anyone _wouldn't_ be drawn to you."

"You're so embarrassing sometimes." Danny almost groaned as his cheeks burned with a blush, but with a smile, he leaned into Vlad, resting his head upon the man's chest and listening to his heartbeat. "Do we really have to go home soon?"

Vlad sighed, snaking an arm around the young man's waist. "Your parents would probably find it suspicious if we stayed out until morning."

Danny frowned. "Just a little while longer?"

Vlad nodded, enjoying this quiet time they had together with Danny in his arms. "I think we can stay for a little longer."


	8. Accidental Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets can only be kept for so long before they inevitably come out.

Danny bit his lower lip to keep from laughing when he woke up on the couch in the living room of his parents' house. Vlad lay behind with his arms wrapped securely around the younger half ghost's body, clinging to him as if he were afraid that when he woke his love would be gone, a distant dream for a lonely man. That thought wiped away the amused smile from his face. Danny took one of the hands and brought it to his mouth, brushing his lips over the back of it. The other arm squeezed a little tighter around him, and a wash of warm breath hit the back of his neck as the older half ghost sighed.

"You're awake now?" Vlad murmured, lips pressing gently to the base of Danny's neck.

"Mhm." Danny turned around so that they were facing each other. His parents were at a training meeting with the few recruits that they trusted to do the job of protecting Amity Park without blasting every ghost they saw out of the sky. He smiled as he stared into Vlad's dark blue eyes. "I've been thinking. I'm going to graduate in a few years, and yeah, I could look anywhere for a job after I get my engineering degree. And I know plenty of my classmates were probably happy to get out of Amity Park after high school graduation and going off to college. But I can work with my parents. I already know how most of their inventions work. Plus, I'm pretty sure my parents want me taking over Fenton Works. Okay, what my rambling is leading up to is that when I graduate from college, I want to move in with you."

"Danny-" Vlad sighed.

"No," Danny said firmly, holding his boyfriend's gaze. "I'm twenty-one now, and I can legally drink, and I'm an adult, and I'll be even older after I've graduated. You, and my parents, need to stop thinking I'm some fourteen year old boy who doesn't know the first thing about love. I want to start my life with you, living together, because I'm ready for that next step."

"Okay." Vlad reached up to thread his fingers through Danny's raven locks. "If that's what you want." His mouth quirked, twitching into a smirk when the excitement bubbling inside Danny shone brightly in his blue eyes. They leaned in, gently fitting their mouths together as Danny shifted closer until their chests pressed flush against one another, their legs a tangled mess.

"Danny!"

They both froze when they heard Danny's friends suddenly burst into the house. Danny's eyes grew wide as he stared at Vlad, neither having the time to spring apart before Tucker and Sam appeared in the front room. Pulling back slowly, Danny licked his lips, his heart pounding in his chest. When he turned his head to glance behind him, his stomach dropped at the sight of his friends, and the expressions on their faces.

"Were you just sucking face with the old dude?" Tucker demanded, his outburst of disbelief breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

Danny scrambled off the couch, stumbling to right himself while Vlad merely sat up and smoothed out his suit as if nothing worth panicking over was happening. "Give me a moment to explain," Danny said quickly when it looked like both of his friends were about to launch into tirades.

"Yes, explain away," Vlad said as he stood up casually. "I think I'll go brew a pot of coffee." He walked to the kitchen, leaving Danny alone to explain things to his friends, which Danny actually thought might be for the best.

Danny shifted awkwardly under the gazes of his friends. Sam had her arms folded with the smoldering fire in her eyes that she got whenever she was about to start lecturing her friends. Tucker, meanwhile, stared with disbelief and a slack jaw. "So, um, I guess you know who my boyfriend is now." Danny rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck, lowering his eyes, unable to keep staring at his friends.

"Danny," Sam shouted, making him flinch, "how can you date him?"

"Yeah," Tucker agreed. "The dude is, like, as old as dirt."

"He's not that old," Danny argued, frowning at his friends.

"He's old enough to be your father," Sam pointed out the obvious, seeing as Vlad had gone to college with Danny's parents. "How did this even happen?"

"I'm kind of wondering how he managed to hide it from us for so long." Tucker actually looked impressed. "But, I mean, seriously, Danny. You could date pretty much _any_ guy you wanted. Why would you date Father Time over there instead?"

"You don't understand!" Danny shouted, his anger and frustration exploding out of him before he could contain it. His friends blinked at him in shock as he tried to recall his composure. "You don't understand what it was like for me thinking that I had died, that had become the very thing that my parents hated and hunted. I was hurt and lonely, and for a while, the only thing really holding me together was being there to watch over my dad when the Guys in White were trying to assassinate him to eliminate the ghost hunting competition. And then Vlad comes into my life. And yeah, he only came here because the Guys in White hired him as a hit man, and yeah, I probably should hate him for that. But he didn't really ever attempt to kill my dad, and I helped him move on from the lingering anger he felt toward my dad and reunite with my parents as friends. And he helped me when I felt like I wasn't broken inside. He treated me like I was still alive even though we both thought I was just a ghost. We're _good_ for each other. I'm sorry if you think that it's weird because of some stupid age difference, but we love each other. And I really hope you don't let this come between our friendship."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. Back it up a moment." Tucker held up his hands. "You love him? Like _love_ , love?"

"Yes," Danny said slowly, hesitantly eying his friend. "That is what I meant when I said we love each other."

"I still don't like it." Sam's mouth pressed together tightly, her fingers biting into her arms. "It's not just the age thing. I mean, there is that. But you two found each other during really emotional points in your lives. You clung onto him because you were hurting and he didn't treat you like a ghost freak. That's great. But is that what you build a relationship on?"

"And you and Tucker didn't figure out you liked each other through your grief when you thought I was dead?" Danny countered with a lift of his eyebrow. "Yes, we found love in each other through a common ground, through companionship when we were both alone and hurting. We're both half ghost. But we've been together as a couple for at least three years now. Yeah, being away at college and doing the long distance relationship thing is hard, but we're making it work. And when I move back here after college, our relationship will be stronger than ever. Why does everyone act like just because I lived for four years thinking I was ghost that I'm completely out of touch with understanding human emotions? My heart didn't die just because I thought I didn't have a human body. I was still capable of emotions. I still loved my family and you two."

"I guess it's just a little weird for us," Tucker said, shrugging awkwardly. "He is kind of friends with your parents. Isn't that weird for you? For them?"

"Yeah, it does get a little awkward when we want to be all snuggly and my parents are around." Danny flushed lightly, scratching the back of his head. "My dad has this whole rule that we're not allowed to do anything under the roof of his house."

Sam lifted an eyebrow. "Weren't you _just_ kissing him?"

"Well, my parents are out, and we weren't expecting anyone to come by." Danny blinked as he glanced between his friends. "Wait. Why did you two come over anyway?" Sometimes he regretted that his friends knew where they kept a secret key in case they got locked out of the house.

"Oh!" Tucker dug his hand into his pocket, grinning as he remembered the reason for their visit. "Tada!" He held out three tickets to the Dumpty Humpty concert that was in a month.

"No way!" Danny snatched one of the tickets from his friend and stared at it as if it wasn't real. "This is going to be so awesome!" Talk about his relationship with Vlad fell to the wayside, forgotten, as the three friends started talking excitedly about the concert. In the doorway to the front room, Vlad leaned against the frame, smiling to himself as he sipped his coffee.


	9. Breaking the Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life was peaceful. College was a great experience. He had friends, family and love. But not everything can last. Peace is sometimes only temporary.

A hiss issued from his mouth, his teeth clenching as his back stung after being struck from behind. Cracking open bright green eyes, Danny glanced at his friends, the ones he met at college, and both of them looked terrified. Isaac had his arms wrapped securely around Clare, who tried but failed to hold back panicked sobs. Danny had, luckily, managed to duck out of sight to transform the moment they turned up, so his identity was still safely a secret.

"I'm going to get you out of here," Danny told them, keeping his voice calm and quiet, trying to soothe their fears as best as he could.

After a quick glance around, he winced at the destruction to the library. It was the place where the three of them hung out the most as they all studied for classes and held random debates with each other. Clare wasn't in any of the classes studying the paranormal, but she had started taking an interest thanks to her time talking with Danny and Isaac. It was a shame that the library would probably take a few months to renovate after the damage done. And the books! Danny could imagine his sister and Sam's devastated faces after seeing the torn and shredded and scorched books lying all around with their gutted insides scattered around like a tornado had struck the library.

"What's going on?" Isaac managed to ask in a shaking voice. "Who are you? Who are they?" He nodded his head behind Danny where he could just see a man dressed in a white suit around Danny's side.

"My name is Phantom," Danny explained quickly, "and you don't have to be scared of me."

"We aren't scared of you," Clare said, her voice thick with emotion as she scrubbed at her eyes with one hand. "You protected us. _They_ ," she glared through watery eyes toward the agent that was approaching, "are the ones shooting at everything under the sun and destroying our library."

"I don't see Danny anywhere," Isaac said in a sudden panic, his eyes wildly darting around to search for their missing friend.

"It's okay," Danny said, thinking fast. "I saw him get out of here safely, though he looked really worried about the both of you. Now let's get moving." He grabbed hold of them, turning all three of them intangible just in time to miss the next shot fired from the blaster the agent carried. The books exploded from the shelf, and Danny regretted that some of the damage done to the library was in part his fault. Maybe he could convince Vlad to donate some money to the college to help pay for repairs. He would have to find some way to thank his boyfriend if Vlad agreed.

For now, he focused his mind on getting his friends out of the library. He kept them intangible, running right through the bookcase with them as he kept a firm hold upon their arms. He couldn't do much in the way of fighting back like this, but he didn't really care to fight the Guys in White. His life had been calm and peaceful ever since they got the mayor to kick the Guys in White out of Amity Park. He almost forgot that they had strong footholds in virtually every other city around the world. Why the Guys in White decided to show up here, now, Danny wasn't sure, but he knew they weren't about give him any answers if he started asking questions. As he led his friends toward the far side of the library, away from the Guys in White, he spotted a few other students, crouching behind bookcases and under tables. The hero in him really wanted to stop and collect each one of them and bring them outside the library where would they would be safe. But a part of him also realized that his presence as Phantom probably wasn't helping matters.

Once he was outside, he released his hold on his friends, who stumbled as they suddenly became solid again. "You should go somewhere safe."

Clare stared worriedly at the library. "You're sure Danny got out of there?"

"Yeah, definitely," Danny assured her.

"This would be really cool, and I know I'd have a thousand questions for you if I wasn't having a near heart attack over what just happened," Isaac mumbled, staring at him in awe.

"Target acquired," someone said behind them, and Danny twisted around to find one of the agents had come around the corner of the library. "Requesting back up immediately on the north side of the building."

Danny brought up a shield without having to think about it, and the shot from the agent's weapon ricocheted off the hard plane of green ectoplasm. "Run!" he shouted over his shoulder to his friends. They seemed hesitant to leave him, if for no other reason than he had protected them from a stray shot while they were still in the library. Then Isaac grabbed hold of Clare's arm and pulled her along as they ran away from the danger.

Once he saw them disappear around the corner, Danny turned his attention back onto the agent. He pushed his arms forward, sending the plate of ectoplasm at the man, who couldn't react fast enough to escape. When Danny squeezed his hands into fists, the ectoplasm wrapped around the agent like ropes, binding his arms to his sides and forcing him to drop his weapon. Then Danny flung his arms to the side, and the agent slammed into the wall of the building where the ectoplasm held him stuck there as if the gooey green substance was glue.

"Nice work."

Danny snapped his head upward when he heard the familiar voice. A frown settled upon his face as his gaze landed upon the ghost floating overhead. Footsteps sounded, telling the arrival of more Guys in White agents. Danny shot up into the sky, putting himself even with the other ghost.

"This mess was your fault!" Danny jabbed a finger into the metal chest.

"I didn't mean to bring them." The ghost frowned, his green eyes darting to the ground where some agents were trying to free their trapped comrade while others took aim at the two ghosts. He caught Danny by the arm, turning them both invisible before he dragged Danny away from the danger. Hopefully, once they were out of range, the Guys in White would leave the college alone. After flying for nearly a hundred miles away from the college campus, the pair stopped and came to land in a small clearing in a park that was abandoned at this time of night.

"What are you doing here, Skulker?" Danny folded his arms over his chest.

"I heard some rumors that my little apprentice turned out to be a half ghost and you were now attending some college." Skulker shrugged. "I just wanted to come see for myself."

Danny eyed the hunter. "To see if I was worth collecting?"

Skulker gave him a dry look. "I know I'm famous for collecting everything that's rare, but, Phantom," he placed a hand on the half ghost's shoulder, and Danny stared at it cautiously, "I trained you and we spent a lot of time together before you decided to return to the real world. I hadn't heard anything about you since you left."

Danny blinked. "Wait. Were you worried about me?" He might have laughed if he didn't already know how badly the hunter could hurt him if angered. Skulker also looked rather serious. "Aw, that's sweet of you. I didn't know you cared so much."

Skulker grumbled, perhaps thinking Danny wouldn't hear him but he did. "You were like a brother to me."

Danny grinned, and maybe his cheeks tinged a light shade of green to hear that admission, but he decided to pretend like he hadn't heard it. "Next time you want to visit though, you should catch me in Amity Park. It's a safe town for ghosts to visit since my parents are working on building a better relationship between ghosts and humans. Other places, as you can see, aren't so friendly with the Guys in White around."

"I heard they were fairly aggressive with their ghost hunting activities." Skulker's expression soured, and he looked ready to go back to the college and start laying down some punishment on the Guys in White. "I had hoped it was an exaggeration."

"We all wish it was an exaggeration." Danny frowned, wishing he could do something more to stop the Guys in White from causing such damage and destruction wherever they went to show the public their "ghost hunting" abilities. He could already see the news reports twisting around the events today to make him look like the villain and it filled him with anger.

They chatted for a little while after that, discussing various things going on with them. Danny told Skulker about Vlad then threatened him if he even _thought_ about hunting Vlad to add to his collection of rarities. Skulker rolled his eyes, but the mention that _two_ half ghosts existed caused a spark of interest in the hunter. After that, Skulker told him about a fiery young ghost that he encountered recently and was trying to woo her, though things weren't going all that well so far. Danny nearly fell over in surprise to hear that Skulker liked someone, as in romantically liked them.

"All that just because he missed me and was worried." Danny shook his head after recounting the events of his day to Vlad. They sat in Danny's bedroom in the apartment that he shared with Isaac while they attended college. After they got to know each other that first year, they decided to become roommates for the following years. "It was nice to see him again though. I'll have to introduce you to him if he decides to visit Amity Park." He hissed slightly as Vlad pressed a bandage over the spot where the Guys in White had hit him. It still stung a bit, but with his ghost powers, it would heal up in a few days.

"I'm glad things worked out so that neither of you, or any of the students and faculty, was badly injured." Vlad's hand lingered on the bandage, and Danny could imagine the worried frown upon his face.

Turning around to face the older half ghost, Danny caressed Vlad's cheek, smiling faintly at his boyfriend. "I was wondering if you might be willing to donate some money to the school for repairs." He turned his gaze away and scowled at the wall. "The Guys in White should have to pay for it, but they won't. They just destroy stuff and leave the victims of their destruction to rebuild out of their own pockets."

Vlad seemed like he had a few choice words to describe the Guys in White, but he held his tongue on those insults. "I would glad offer to donate some money to the school."

Danny sighed as he pressed their foreheads together. "I wish there was something we could do to stop the Guys in White from doing stuff like that. I can't believe the government supports them. They're a terrible menace."

Vlad frowned as he stared into Danny's eyes. "Is that part of the reason you don't even want to consider finding a job outside of Amity Park?"

Danny shrugged. "Amity Park is the safest place for ghosts. I can get away living anywhere as long as I never transform and get on the Guys in White's radar. But," his mouth pressed thin, "today really was a wakeup call. Even though things have been nice and peaceful here at college, it's only a matter of time before the Guys in White show up to wreck it all. At least in Amity Park, we never have to worry about that."

"Now I'm going to be worrying about you being out here all alone if the Guys in White are stirring things up near you." The concern was back on Vlad's face.

"I'll be safe." Danny curled up in the older half ghost's arms, laying his head against Vlad's chest to listen to his heart. "As long as I'm just the human me, I'll be safe."

Vlad's arms wrapped securely around him. "I'd assign someone to watch over you, but that would only cause more trouble since any ghost would alert the Guys in White."

"It'll be fine." Danny's mouth opened wide in a yawn. "I'll graduate soon, and this whole mess will be behind us. Then we can be safe and happy in Amity Park." His eyes slipped shut, lulled by the steady beating of Vlad's heart. A smile tugged across his face when Vlad dropped a kiss upon the top of his head.


	10. Guests for Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has settled into Vlad's house after college when special guests show up.

Danny lifted the spoon to his mouth and gave the sauce a little taste. With a frown, he looked over his shoulder. "It tastes weird."

Vlad lifted his head, tearing his attention away from the papers before him. Some were from the meetings with the mayor about laws to protect both humans and ghosts. The rest were from the company that he bought: reports from his employees about their experiments and inventions, requests to start on new projects, and a bunch of other stuff that Danny didn't fully understand. Setting down his pen, he walked over to Danny and took hold of his wrist as he leaned in to taste the sauce on the spoon. His nose wrinkled slightly.

"Maybe try a little oregano," Vlad suggested.

Danny sighed as he searched through the bottles of spices for the oregano. After he graduated from college and returned to Amity Park, Vlad started teaching him how to cook. Danny was impressed with the older half ghost's skill at cooking, but he unfortunately didn't seem to have that same natural ability. When he tried things on his own, they always seemed to missing something that made them taste just right.

Sprinkling in a little of the oregano into his sauce, Danny smiled lightly as Vlad's arms circled around his waist. "I thought you were too busy with your work to take a break."

"Well, it looks like dinner will be ready soon," Vlad murmured against Danny's neck as the young half ghost stirred the bubbling sauce. "You have work in the morning?"

Danny nodded as he flicked off the burner. "Morning shift, but then I'll be at my parents' to help them with their work." When he returned from college, he found work at a local repair shop that worked on basically anything people needed to have fixed. Old clocks and radios, sometimes toasters. He really liked repairing cars and motorcycles. But he split his time working there and working for his parents, which more like an unpaid internship. Turning around in Vlad's arms, he leaned in, their noses nudging against each other. "But," the corners of his mouth twitched as they hovered just inches from kissing, "I'm completely free tonight if you decide to put off all that paperwork."

"You are being terribly tempting." Their mouths hovered in a dangerous dance of very nearly pressing together in a kiss. Vlad's hands rested upon his boyfriend's hips, and he stepped forward to trap Danny's body between him and the oven. Danny grinned impishly as his fingers threaded through silver hair. He liked tugging free the band keeping Vlad's hair tied back in a neat ponytail and letting those silver locks fall free. Their lips barely brushed against each other when the doorbell rang through the house.

Danny groaned as he tilted his head back and asked the ceiling, "Who could that be?"

"You're twenty-five, Danny. Don't act like a whiny child." Vlad pulled away from him, and Danny frowned. "If it's someone from work, I'll send them away."

Vlad strode out of the kitchen and to the front door with Danny trailing behind him, curious to see who had interrupted them. When Vlad opened the door, Danny craned his head to look around him and nearly stumbled forward in surprise when he saw his sister upon the doorstep.

"Jazz!" Danny launched forward to hug his sister, Vlad quickly sidestepping out of the way for the siblings. "What are you doing back? I thought you were in New York still." A cough from behind his sister made Danny lift his head, and he blinked when he spotted Dash.

"How about we let them into the house rather than force them to stand on the doorstep?" Vlad caught the back of Danny's shirt and tugged his boyfriend into the house.

"Ah, right. Sorry." Danny rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck as he flushed lightly. "Come in." He stepped away so that the couple could enter the house.

"You know," Dash said after the door was closed behind them, and he gave Vlad a glance, "I knew you were gay. Which I'm totally okay with." He held up his hands like he was defending himself against an oncoming argument. "I didn't realize grandpas were your thing though."

"Vlad isn't that old," Danny argued. "And I shouldn't have to defend who I fall in love with."

"You're right." Dash still had his hands raised. "You want to love the old guy, that's your choice. But you can't tell me not to be surprised." He cracked half a smirk then nudged Danny with his elbow. "I bet your friends freaked out when they heard you were dating him."

Some of his anger fizzled away, and Danny felt somewhat relieved that Dash didn't explode in a major freak out of disgust. Then his brow wrinkled as he glanced between his sister and Dash. "Wait. Why are you both here? What happened to New York?"

"Well," Jazz said, glancing at Dash, and Danny didn't miss some of the nervousness radiating from his sister. "We already talked to Mom and Dad, but I wanted to tell you before they decided to come over and spoil the news."

Danny's eyes kept darting between the two, his own nervousness growing and gnawing at him as his sister drew out whatever the big news was. Then Jazz smiled and raised her hand, and it took Danny a moment to realize that there was a ring upon her finger. It was a simple silver band with a small diamond. Danny's jaw dropped, his mouth hanging wide open.

"Dash proposed. We're getting married!" Jazz announced excitedly.

"I'm so happy for you!" Danny drew his sister in for another hug. When he pulled back, he turned toward Dash. "Well, I guess that means we're going to be brothers."

Dash nodded like that thought was just occurring to him. "Well, I guess it could be worse. I could have ended up with that Nathan guy that always chased Valerie around for a brother-in-law." He shuddered at that idea. Then he bumped a fist against Danny's shoulder. "We should do some brother bonding sometime though. Oh, uh, I hope you won't be offended or anything, but I plan on having Kwan as my best man."

Danny shook his head with a smile. "No, Kwan's perfect for your best man." Dash returned the smile with a wide grin.

"Well," Vlad clapped his hands together. "Danny just finished making dinner. If you would like to stay and eat with us. I think I have the perfect bottle of wine to go with it to celebrate this wonderful news."

"Danny cooks now?" Jazz looked rather impressed by that news. "Well, now we _have_ to stay and try his cooking." She gave her brother a teasing grin before following Vlad toward the dining room.

"So old guys?" Dash lifted an eyebrow at Danny as they lingered in the front hall.

"It's not _old guys_." Danny frowned at the former jock, who he noted had remained in the same great shape from high school. "It's just Vlad. When we met, well, things weren't great right away, but we started connecting and things just," he shrugged, "happened."

"Well, if he makes you happy, I guess that's all that really matters." Dash slapped him on the back.

"You're, uh, being really cool about this." Danny furrowed his brow.

Dash hunched up his broad shoulders. "Love is love. Who am I to judge what you feel for someone?"

Danny smiled as he led Dash toward the dining room. "I'm really glad you're marrying Jazz." He had seen them together during summer breaks, and he couldn't imagine anyone else making his sister happy for the rest of her life.


	11. Quiet Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrolling alone can sometimes be dull, so Danny welcomes the chance to talk with his best friend while being on guard for ghost attacks.

"So Jazz is in full wedding planning mode?" Tucker asked with a chuckle as they walked along the edge of Amity Park.

Danny liked to keep an eye on what was happening beyond the boarder of their town. It was risky business to venture into neighboring towns when the Guys in White were present there too, but Danny hated sitting back and doing nothing if a ghost was stirring up trouble. Sometimes, he even took the risk to help peaceful ghosts escape from the Guys in White before they were captured. Vlad hated when he did that because Danny put himself in danger of being captured himself by the Guys in White. Tonight, however, things were silent. He hadn't picked up any ghost activity.

"For about the past two months," Danny said and resisted the small urge to groan. "They're still planning to have the wedding next month, and she has a lot of stuff to do by then." He rubbed at his face, feeling drained just thinking about it. "I still haven't even gotten fitted for the tux I have to wear since Dash wants me to be a groomsman." He glanced at his friend. "I think they're planning on having me and Sam walk down the aisle together."

"Hey, you don't have to ask me for permission there." Tucker laughed. "It's not like I have to worry about it suddenly sparking up past feelings or anything. And anyway," he shrugged with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat, "Sam would probably kick my butt if I started acting like some possessive idiot telling her she can't do something."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, she probably would. And considering she's taken lessons from her mom, she could probably kill you and leave no trace of evidence."

"Gee, thanks for that thought." Tucker shuddered at the idea of Sam taking after her mother, who worked as an assassin before giving it up to raise a family with the man with whom she fell in love. Then he shook his head with a small smile tugging across his face. "I guess it's good then that I know her well enough to know how to stay on her good side."

Danny grinned as he nudged his friend in the ribs. "Are wedding bells going to be ringing for the two of you anytime soon?"

Tucker bowed his head as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, funny you should ask." He pulled out his other hand from his other coat pocket, and in that hand, he held a small dark purple felt box. When he popped it open, there was a small silver band with a diamond set into it and bat wing spreading out from the jewel. "Do you think she'll like it?"

Danny stared, his mouth hanging slightly open. When he asked about a wedding, he had only been joking. He didn't actually think that Tucker was close to asking Sam to marry him. "Dude!" Danny jerked out of his surprise and slapped Tucker on the back with a bright grin. "This is awesome! When are you going to ask her?"

Tucker snapped the box shut and safely stashed it back in his pocket. "Well, I didn't want to take away from Jazz's wedding. It's going to be her special day, so I thought I'd wait until after the wedding was over. Plus, if I give it two months afterward, the anniversary of my first date with Sam will be around then. How much more romantic can I make it then setting everything up perfectly for proposing to her?"

"Just don't try _too_ hard to make it perfect," Danny suggested, and he couldn't stop grinning. His sister was marrying a good man that loved her and treated her well. His best friends were on their way to becoming engaged. "And if you really want to surprise her, you can't act all stiff and nervous. She'll know something's up then."

"You make it seem like you've been plotting your own proposal plan." Tucker laughed, but after a moment, it hit him and the humor ran away from his face. "Oh, hey. Sorry. I didn't mean-"

Danny shook his head. "It's okay." He shrugged. "So what if it's not legal for two men to get married here? Vlad and I are happy together. We don't _need_ to be married."

"I bet you Sam would try her hardest to make it so that you could marry him though." Tucker tried to grin, but he seemed to realize he should simply drop the topic. "Anyway, since you know now, I wanted to ask you to be my best man. You know, if Sam actually says yes."

Danny rolled his eyes. " _Of course_ she's going to say yes. And you didn't even need to ask. I would love to be your best man." He patted his friend on the back. Then he chuckled. "At least this night had some excitement. Who knew patrolling could be so boring?" He stretched his arms over his head. Despite any complaints of boredom, it was nice having some patrol nights that were quiet.

"Have your parents considered reaching out to other towns to push back the Guys in White's influence?"

Danny scratched behind his ear as they continued walking the boarder of Amity Park. "My parents have arranged meetings with mayors of neighboring towns, but most of them are pretty much in the palm of the Guys in White's hands. We were hoping that maybe some of them would look at how things are here and start thinking that maybe they could do the same. Building better relations with ghosts so that their towns can be safe for both humans and ghosts. It feels like the Guys in White have the rest of the world brainwashed to think like them."

Tucker shook his head, frowning with a mix of disappointment and anger in his eyes. "I can't believe those guys. I get people being scared of ghosts. After you-" He hesitated with a glance toward his friend.

"It's okay to say I died." Danny reached over and slapped Tucker on the arm with a laugh. "Come on! That was years ago. I don't think you need to tiptoe around me anymore."

"O-Okay." Tucker didn't look too certain about that. "Anyway, after that, there were ghosts popping up a lot because you opened the Portal. It was a scary time because we thought the ghosts were trying to hurt us. I think all the heart attacks I had back then might have cut my life short a few years." He laughed. "But now I look back and I feel silly for being so scared. Sure. Some of them really were bad and out to hurt people, but a lot of them were just having fun, playing pranks that wouldn't actually seriously hurt anyone. If we could just get them to interact with some of the nice ghosts, maybe they would be more understanding and willing start up something like your parents have done."

"We can't force it." Danny sighed. "Maybe one day in the future. I just hope the Guys in White never get a foot hold here again after we're all gone."

"Ugh! Don't talk like that. We're still young! I don't want to think about dying." Tucker groaned.

"Sorry. I guess I just worry about the future when we're not here to protect the town and keep the Guys in White out." Danny stopped and turned to his friend. "I guess we can call it a night on patrolling. I don't think any ghosts are going to come out to stir up trouble. Let's go celebrate your future proposal."

"Best man buying?" Tucker grinned.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He threw an arm around Tucker's shoulder as they headed off to a local bar for a couple drinks.


	12. When the Lights Are Low

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date night rolls around, and Danny decides on something that he hasn't done in what feels like forever: go to the movies.

"Are you sure about this?" Vlad questioned with the slightest wrinkling of his nose like he had just caught whiff of a foul stench.

Okay. Even Danny had to admit that the movie theater had an odd odor to it, that he was currently pretending not to notice. But honestly, where was that smell coming from? The floor was a bit sticky under their feet too, so it was difficult to move about quietly. For a normal human anyway. If they really wanted to, Danny and Vlad could take advantage of their ghost powers to sneak away, especially once the lights went off and they were left in the dark.

"Hey, I never got to do the whole normal dating thing," Danny complained as he decided on a seat in the middle of the row slightly back from the center of the theater. Vlad joined him, sitting down a bit gingerly, and Danny tried not to laugh at the expression on the older half ghost's face. Vlad seriously looked like he was afraid his expensive suit was going to be ruined because some teenager left a wad of bubblegum on the seat, or something worse. "I thought we should at least have this experience _once_ for a date." Danny leaned back happily in his seat, fixing his super large soda into the cup holder. "It's been forever since I've been to a movie. What about you?"

Vlad placed the bag of popcorn in his lap as he thought about it. "Not since before the accident. After that, well, let's just say I had other things on my mind that didn't involve spending all my time in a dark movie theater."

"Oh." Danny turned his head to the large screen in front of them and shifted awkwardly in his seat. It hadn't really occurred to him when he suggested they see a movie together for their date that Vlad probably hadn't bothered to go to a movie theater for years. "Sorry." He bowed his head, tugging at a loose strand on his jeans.

"It's quite all right." Vlad leaned back, trying to get comfortable as he watched random advertisements flash upon the screen. "I have the time now, and I wouldn't think of enjoying a movie with anyone else."

Danny hunched up his shoulders, his cheeks warming, and he was glad that hardly anyone else was in the theater. There was a group of four girls sitting several rows ahead of them. Behind them was a couple, both with white hair. A younger couple sat in a dark corner, and Danny could only imagine what they might plan on doing once the lights were off. But for the most part, he felt like they were practically alone, and when he glanced toward Vlad, his own naughty thoughts popped into his mind. His cheeks started to burn even brighter as the lights dimmed around them and the music of the movie theater intro blared so loudly it made his ears ache. He thought for sure his eardrums were literally rattling from the noise of the movie. In the glow from the screen, Danny saw Vlad grimace at the loudness too.

The trailers for movies coming out in the future flashed across the screen while Danny sipped from his soda, soaking it all in with bright burst of color and explosions. It felt a little surreal to him. Everything about the movies looked so new and shiny to him. His gaze flicked to Vlad, whose eyes were wide and his expression one of shock. Danny could only think to describe it as someone that was yanked from the past and thrust a hundred years into the future and was trying to absorb all the new technology and other advances the world had made during that missed century. Danny marveled over the new graphics and special effects they put into movies today, but Vlad hadn't seen a movie since back in the eighties where something like _Return of the Jedi_ was revolutionary with its special effects.

The movie was sort of interesting. It had the drama and the big explosions and the chase scenes and the fights and a dash of romance thrown in that didn't overpower the whole movie. But Danny's gaze kept straying back toward Vlad throughout the movie. He couldn't read whether his boyfriend liked the movie or not since his expression remained that same stunned, wide eyed look from when the trailers started.

"Are you enjoying it?" Danny whispered as he leaned in close to Vlad's ear. A grin played across his face when Vlad jumped in surprise, jerked out of his shock at the movie.

"I think I saw a movie with this same plot years ago," Vlad whispered back, sounding rather unimpressed, "though that one didn't have all this," he gestured at the screen with one hand, "unnecessary pyrotechnics."

"They're called special effects. You know, like computer generated images." Danny rolled his eyes like he would whenever his parents showed their age by being confused with all the latest tech that didn't pertain to ghost hunting equipments. He was pretty sure that his father still didn't know how to program the DVR. But he guessed Vlad had an excuse for not knowing much about all the latest effects in movies since he used to be busy as an assassin. "If it's not to your liking," he grinned, sneakily reaching over to place his hand on Vlad's thigh, "I can think of something far more interesting we could do in a dark, nearly empty theater."

"Danny," Vlad said, his voice firm though Danny thought he heard a hint that the man might give in with a little persuasion. The light from the screen as the characters walked around in a bright white facility illuminated the older half ghost's face, giving Danny the chance to see the splash of color upon his cheeks. "I would prefer such intimate interactions to be done in the privacy of our own home."

Danny blinked then a wry smirk curled crookedly upon his face. "Really? You've never been tempted to make out in a movie theater before? This is a perfect opportunity to cross that off the list." He leaned over even closer until his lips were brushing over Vlad's ear. "And with ghost powers no one would ever have to see us." His hand slipped up Vlad's thigh, nudging under the bag of popcorn that remained in the man's lap.

"Danny." Vlad's tone was firmer than before, carrying the weight of a warning in it.

Danny liked toying with the man when Vlad was in the mood to play along, but he also knew the warning signs of when to back off. He pulled back to his own seat, turning to face the screen. When Vlad made it clear that he wasn't interested in kissing or other stuff, Danny respected him and didn't push the topic. They watched the movie to the end in comfortable silence, but Danny smiled when Vlad reached over and laced their hands together.


	13. Surprising Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of his sister's wedding has arrived, and Danny didn't think he could be happier until he gets some surprising news.

"Just think," Danny mumbled as Vlad held him close, "not too long from now, we could be right back here attending Tuck and Sam's reception after their wedding." He grinned, ignoring the glares occasionally shot their way from disgruntled wedding guests. Most of them were from Dash's side of the wedding guests. Danny's family and friends already knew about their relationship, and after the years of seeing them together, they could no longer argue that the pair weren't completely in love with each other the way they had when Danny was still only eighteen and had basically just come back from being "dead."

Not all of Dash's relatives, however, were so understanding about their relationship. Danny caught whispers of them grumbling about homosexuality being a sin and how disgusting it was that Vlad was "robbing the cradle." He scowled at their comments. Vlad wasn't _that_ old, and Danny was twenty-five, almost twenty-six, which made him more than old enough to fall in love with whomever he wished. Vlad made sure to keep him distracted from going up to Dash's relatives and shouting at them, pulling him onto the dance floor as the band played a slow song.

With a hum of acknowledgement, Vlad's gaze swept around the reception hall, and Danny copied him until they both spotted his friends. Tucker and Sam were sitting at the moment, sharing bites of cake with each other. They looked so happy together, and Danny couldn't wait for when Tucker presented the engagement ring to Sam as he proposed.

"Do you regret it?" Vlad asked in a quiet voice.

Danny twisted his gaze back onto the older half ghost, confusion shimmering in his blue eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Vlad frowned as he met Danny's gaze, "we'll never be able to marry since it's not legal here."

Danny shook his head with an amused smile. "I don't care about that. Even if it's illegal for us to marry, I still want to be with only you." He leaned over and kissed Vlad on the mouth. He left it short and sweet, not wanting to give any grumbling relatives more fuel to scowl at and mutter about them.

Then he felt a cold shiver run through him and gasped. Danny glanced at Vlad, who noticed the presence of other ghosts in the area too. Vlad's mouth pressed thin, and his eyes stormed over, like he was very displeased with an interruption during the wedding reception.

"I'll deal with it," Danny told him, and he pulled away from Vlad before the older half ghost could argue. Walking toward the exit of the reception hall, Danny tossed a quick glance around and caught sight of his sister. Jazz was a vision of beauty in her strapless wedding dress. She danced with Dash, who looked quite handsome in his tux, her head resting upon her new husband's shoulder as they swayed gently to the music. Danny was going to deal with whatever ghost dared to show up right now so that his sister's big day wasn't ruined.

After he stepped out of the reception hall, Danny jogged down the stairs to the ground floor of the building, hoping that dealing with the ghost wouldn't take too long. The woman manning the coats was bobbing her head along to the music, that Danny could hear muffled from her headphones, and didn't seem to be paying much attention to anyone coming and going. But maybe that was because receptions were in progress, and she wasn't expecting anyone new to show up or the guests to leave just yet while the receptions were still in full swing.

Danny stormed out of the building ready to start screaming to the sky for the ghost to reveal him or herself. He halted, however, when he spotted a female ghost with fiery blue hair swinging a guitar right into the head of Skulker. The head popped off his metal suit, bouncing on the ground as Skulker's little legs wiggled out the neck of it. The rest of his suit collapsed to the ground, unable to operate without the head attached.

"What is going on here?" Danny frowned as he folded his arms and stared flatly at the pair of ghosts. He had only met Skulker's girlfriend Ember a few times over the years. They had an... interesting relationship. They argued a lot, but it seemed like they enjoyed fighting with each other. Danny decided not question it if the pair was actually happy with each other in the end.

"Will you tell this bonehead that the _pelt_ ," Ember glared at her boyfriend as he managed to climb out of the head of his suit, "of some ghost isn't a romantic gesture."

"You gave her a pelt?" Danny lifted his eyebrows.

"Hey!" Skulker complained, folding his arms with a grumpy expression on his face. "In the past, hunting a great creature and returning with its pelt was considered a great romantic gesture! Chiefs would betroth their daughters to great warriors."

"News flash! This isn't ancient times anymore." Ember rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips. "How did I end up with a geezer of a ghost?"

"Hey!"

Danny massaged his head. "Skulker, next time, try something like flowers. Or hey! Ember likes music. Maybe you could get her a new guitar or find some music that she would like and you could dance to it."

"I don't dance," Skulker argued.

"What? Did you build your suit with two left feet?" Ember snorted.

"No fighting!" Danny shouted, silencing the pair before they could continue sniping at each other. "This is my sister's _wedding day_. This, right now, is her reception. And I should be up there," he pointed at the building, "enjoying it with her. This is supposed to be a 'no ghost fighting' day for me. It's supposed to be quiet and calm and without incident." He glared at the two ghosts, who almost looked abashed as they glanced away from him.

"Sorry," Skulker mumbled.

Danny sighed tiredly. "Skulker, seriously, no more pelts as offerings for gifts." Ember smirked victoriously at that while Skulker scowled. "Now if that's all, I'd like to get back to the reception."

"So when are we going be hearing wedding bells for you two?" Skulker asked, and when Danny turned back to them, even Ember looked rather curious about the answer.

Danny could only stare at them for a while as the question swam around in his head. "Uh, sorry, but it's not really legal for two men to get married."

Ember turned her gaze to Skulker, who had decided to float over and sit on her shoulder. "They really haven't changed that since I died?"

Skulker shrugged. "I died way, _way_ before you did. Although," he looked thoughtful, tapping his chin with a finger, "since the two of you _are_ half ghost, I think it would be allowed if you went through a ghost marriage. When you're dead, gender doesn't matter for things like marriage."

Danny's brow knitted. Then he shook his head, still trying to digest what Skulker just told him. "There's such thing as a ghost marriage?"

"Well, yeah," Skulker answered like that should be obviously. "You didn't think that just because we're ghosts it meant we couldn't get married, did you?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Danny admitted as he placed a hand to his chin. He actually hadn't spent much time whining internally about not being able to marry Vlad. It sucked that it was illegal in their state, but that law didn't stop them from being together so he wasn't going to cry over that fact. But hearing about the possibility of a ghost marriage ignited a little spark of excitement in him. He could marry Vlad! Even if it was only legal in the eyes of ghosts. His mouth stretched in a bright smile. "Okay. You two are going to fill me in about all this ghost marriage stuff. Then you, and all other ghosts, can't tell Vlad _anything_ about it."

"I think a surprise proposal is on the way," Ember said, smirking with excitement in her green eyes. Apparently, being in on the secret of Danny proposing to Vlad pleased the singer. Danny happily lingered outside the building where the reception was taking place to listen to the details about a ghost marriage, which didn't seem a whole lot different from a normal marriage except for a few ghostly additions, while Skulker checked over his suit for any damage when Ember whacked the head off it.

When they said their goodbyes and he headed back into the building to rejoin the reception, Danny wore a happy smile upon his face. He wanted to blurt out the news the moment he saw Vlad again, but he squashed down that feeling. He could wait on telling Vlad until the moment he proposed. Slipping into the chair next to his boyfriend, Danny leaned into him and opened his mouth when Vlad offered up a bite of cake on his fork. One day, they really could have something like this, and Danny didn't realize how much that fact made him feel so incredibly happy until that moment.


	14. Cat out of the Bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The blood made an awful mess in the kitchen.

"What is going on in here?"

Danny lifted his head to see Vlad standing in the doorway of the kitchen. The older half ghost wore a severe frown upon his face, his arms folded over his chest, and he looked none too pleased with the mess in their house. Danny might have offered a sheepish look if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Cujo _may_ have strayed too close to Amity Park boundary line," Danny answered, turning his attention back to the work he was doing, patching up the ghost dog's bleeding side. Cujo whimpered pathetically, whining at the pain. "The Guys in White, unfortunately, happened to be out just at that time and shot at him, even though he was perfectly within the limits of town. It's lucky I was close by, or-" Danny paled thinking about what would have happened to the poor ghost dog if he hadn't been there to rescue him.

He would never say that Cujo was _his_ dog since Cujo had no real master and ran around on his own a lot. But Danny had a soft spot for the playful puppy, who liked to visit him frequently. Sometimes it felt like Cujo could be his dog when they were playing with each other, but then Cujo would disappear for a couple of weeks or months before showing up again. Danny always had a bit of a panic attack when he didn't see Cujo for quite a while because, as today showed, he never knew if the ghost dog ran afoul with the Guys in White.

"I'll clean up the mess," Danny assured Vlad as he bandaged up Cujo's side to help stop the bleeding. The ghost dog would heal up a lot faster once he was in the Ghost Zone, but he was still in pretty bad shape right now.

"It's fine." Vlad shook his head as he walked toward the kitchen closet to get some of their heavy duty cleaning supplies - guaranteed to clean up those nasty ectoplasm messes! "I don't like that the Guys in White are taking risks like that." He set down the supplies then rolled up his sleeves. "But I'm glad you're all right."

When he looked up, Danny saw the worry in Vlad's eyes. They had talks, sometimes fights, about it. As much as he wanted to put the Guys in White in their place, or even completely destroy their operations, Vlad knew going up against them was no easy feat. They couldn't just start attacking the Guys in White. They had an image to uphold, after all. The public would not see them in a good light if they, as their ghost halves, started trying to tear down the Guys in White. They were supposed to be diplomats, finding ways to keep peace between ghosts and humans through talk and compromise, except in the cases where particularly violent ghosts couldn't be reasoned with. It got really frustrating, even though Danny understood the need to not act rashly. It was difficult for Danny because he just had this need to protect and fight the evil organization.

Even as he thought that, though, Danny realized that wasn't one hundred percent accurate. There were plenty of corrupted members in the Guys in White, but he felt certain that there were some employees that were completely unaware of the organization's evil doing. Those people probably thought they were doing a lot of good protecting people from the vicious ghosts that liked to attack and hurt people. He couldn't blame them for wanting to do the same thing that he wanted to do. It was the agents that harmed innocent ghosts and manipulated the public into supporting them that Danny couldn't stand.

"I didn't mean to-" The words caught in Danny's throat when something came trotting into the kitchen and with a graceful leap landed on Vlad's shoulder as if there was absolutely nothing strange about it. He stared, mouth still open from being in the middle of speaking, as the gray cat, slightly see through, lifted a paw and gave it a lick before rubbing it over its head. "Uh, when did you get a cat?" Not the most intelligent response, but Danny was stunned by the ghost cat's appearance.

"Apparently an hour ago," Vlad confessed with perhaps a touch of color on his cheeks as he reached up and gave the cat a quick scratch under the chin. From the rumbling purr, the cat seemed to approve the little affectionate touch. "I found her while I was at the bookstore and she followed me home. She seemed to like the name Maddie, so that's what I've decided to call her." The cat, Maddie, meowed like she was agreeing to the name.

Danny blinked several times before he frowned. "Wait. So you named the _ghost cat_ after my _mom_?" His eyes narrowed in a hard, angry glare.

"Not so. Your mother is named Maddie, short for Madeline," Vlad explained as he knelt down, preparing to clean up the mess on the floor from Cujo bleeding out after being shot.

For now, the ghost dog seemed to be okay. He wasn't whining anymore, but Danny knew Cujo was still in great pain. Danny placed a hand to Cujo's head, scratching behind the dog's ears in an effort to provide some comfort.

"I named the cat Maddie, short for Madison," Vlad continued, scrubbing extra hard in places where the ectoplasm blood was stuck a bit more than the rest. "You know, where I used to live in Wisconsin before moving here to help your parents."

"Oh." Danny flushed with embarrassment. For a moment, when he heard the cat's name, an irrational jealousy swept through him.

Vlad had claimed to love his mother for more than twenty years. Thinking that Vlad named a cat for her, Danny's brain immediately jumped to the thought that Vlad still held onto some lingering feelings for his mother. Maybe some part of Vlad did still love his mother, but since Danny was eighteen and they confessed they liked each other, Vlad had never shown any sway in his feelings. Danny bowed his head, trying to shake off that feeling of being silly and an idiot. Vlad loved him. Danny knew that. Vlad got jealous at the idea of anyone else kissing him. Apparently, Danny realized, he didn't much like the idea of Vlad still thinking about his mother as anything more than a friend.

"Sorry," Danny mumbled. "I guess I was just feeling a little jealous."

Vlad lifted his head from his work of cleaning. Maddie the cat blinked golden green eyes at him. "I've let go of those feelings toward Maddie. She is just a dear friend to me now." His gaze dropped to the ghost dog. "You should get him back to the Ghost Zone. He can't heal very well while he's out here in the real world."

"Right." Danny nodded, gathering the ghost dog into his arms. It was easy since Cujo was in his puppy form. He was careful not to cause anymore pain for the ghost. "I'm, uh - Sorry for doubting you." Danny frowned, feeling guilty. "Logically, I knew that. But emotionally, I couldn't help feeling a little jealous."

"It's perfectly natural to feel jealousy, Danny. But it's important not to let that jealousy consume you." Vlad tilted his head up with that severe frown he sometimes wore. "For a long time, I let my jealousy over wanting what Jack and Maddie have together twist my emotions into something ugly. It was only after identifying it and letting go that I was able to open myself up to true happiness."

Danny smiled, because he was the happiness that Vlad meant. "I'm still sorry for being jealous and doubting you." He leaned over and gave Vlad a quick kiss. "After I make sure Cujo will be all right in the Ghost Zone, I'll come help you with this mess. Sorry about getting the blood everywhere."

Vlad shook his head. "The mess can be cleaned up. Protecting an innocent ghost is more important." That was one thing they could definitely agree on.

Danny phased through the kitchen floor and into the laboratory Vlad built there, complete with his own working Portal. He stepped through the open Portal into the Ghost Zone then flew off to a place he knew Cujo would be safe until he healed up. Skulker might be a hunter, but even he had a soft spot for adorable puppies. Danny also knew that Ember would knock Skulker's head off again if the hunter even _thought_ about turning Cujo into a pelt to adorn their lair.


	15. A Hope for Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny spends some time talking with Skulker when they cross paths with someone unexpected.

"You know," Skulker said as he patrolled the town with Danny, "after we told you about the whole ghost marriage thing, I thought you'd ask him already."

Danny shot a frown at the hunter before returning his attention to searching for any other ghosts in the area. "Vlad's out of town right now. He went to consult with some of the mayors in other towns. We're still hoping we can appeal to them and make them see that the Guys in White's way of handling the so-called 'ghost threat' isn't right." He sighed, exhaustion feeling like a hundred pound weight resting upon his shoulders. "It's still hard getting any of them to even agree to talking since the Guys in White pretty much have the rest of the world in their hands. But my parents have managed to come across some other hunters and inventors that have been threatened by the Guys in White. They brought them here so that they could live in peace without fear of the Guys in White trying to kill them. They've been good additions to the team, and they seem to like being able to talk with ghosts that aren't a threat to the world."

Danny almost chuckled when he realized that Amity Park had become more than a safe haven for the peaceful ghosts. It was a safe haven for anyone that was interested in ghosts and didn't agree with the Guys in White and wanted to escape the organization's control. Isaac even called him recently saying that he was considering moving to Amity Park after he did some more traveling around the world. He had gone to various countries after college to research different cultures and their ideas on ghosts and the paranormal. But Clare wanted to settle down and have a stable home after so much living out of hostiles and hotels and the homes of welcoming natives.

"You're not chickening out, are you?" Skulker's mouth pressed together as his brow knitted. "I know I'm new to the whole being in a relationship and in love thing since I've only been with Ember for a while now, but I can definitely see how much you and Vlad love each other."

"I'm not chickening out." Danny scowled at him for even suggesting that. Part of him _was_ putting off the proposal since only last week Tucker finally asked Sam to marry him. Sam's mother eagerly threw out suggestions for the wedding the moment they told their parents, saying she knew the perfect poufy white wedding dress and how their wedding scheme should be a subtle pink and cream. Danny could only imagine the horror on Sam's face at the idea of an overly girly wedding.

But Sam was soon shocked when her mother, after much rambling on suggestions, turned to her and said, "But of course, dear, it's your wedding. We'll do whatever you want." After that, Sam decided to agree to at least one thing her mother wanted and would wear a necklace from her mother with a beautifully cut pink diamond pendant, a gift from her husband early in their relationship. Danny was happy to see that Sam and her mother were still getting along so well. He remembered listening to Sam rant about how much her parents didn't understand her and kept forcing her to be what they wanted her to be.

"I'm just waiting for the right time," Danny explained, "and how best to ask him. I never even considered thinking about a proposal before because I always thought that door was closed to us. Now that we actually have a way to be married, it's pretty overwhelming. I just want to do something that he'll like. Something romantic."

"I wouldn't think too hard about it." Skulker slapped a hand to Danny's back. "You could probably do something simple. A quiet dinner in, cozy up by the fire with some fine wine, then just spring the question on him."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. I don't think I would have thought of any of that by myself." He knew the proposal was definitely not something that he wanted to do in a public setting. They had their dates, but they tried not to draw attention to themselves. Aside from the people that would sneer at them, they liked keeping their private lives to themselves. They only stole kisses when they thought they could get away with it without being seen. Danny just didn't want to make some silly and cheesy proposal.

Skulker drew him up short, catching Danny by the arm. With a blink of surprise, Danny turned to the hunter, wondering if he had offended the ghost with his sarcasm. But Skulker didn't look upset. He nodded his head toward something, and Danny followed his gaze.

Walking across the boundary into Amity Park was a young woman wearing in a neat white dress suit that contrasted greatly with her ebony skin. Her dark hair was drawn back in a tight bun with not a single hair out of place. Her face had hard angles, making her expression come off as rather strict. Her brown eyes spotted them immediately, and she adjusted to walk straight toward them. Danny swallowed nervously, every muscle in his body tensing as he prepared for a fight.

"Good evening, Phantom," the woman said in a very polite but clipped tone. Her gaze drifted only briefly to Skulker with a slight bow of her head before all her attention as back on Danny.

"You could be arrested just for entering Amity Park," Danny warned. He saw no weapons on her, but that didn't mean she was defenseless. From past encounters, Danny knew that the Guys in White could have weapons hidden upon them as seemingly harmless items, like cufflinks that turned into ecto ray guns. However, she hadn't outright attacked them, so Danny was giving her the opportunity to talk, if that was all she wanted. Attacking a human would only reflect poorly on them, even if he was still furious at the organization after they hurt Cujo, who was thankfully back to his playful self after spending some time recovering in the Ghost Zone.

"I promise I come only to talk," she said, lifting her hands up as if surrendering to them. "I am completely unarmed."

"Why should we trust you?" Skulker demanded, narrowing his eyes. "Even if you _are_ unarmed, you could have some of your agents lying in the shadows waiting to attack."

"You're absolutely right. You have no reason to trust me." She snapped a sharp glare toward the hunter. "But I came here of my own free will without the knowledge of my superiors."

Danny lifted an eyebrow, his interest definitely piquing at that comment. Despite all the horrible things that the Guys in White did, their agents didn't generally go off on their own to _talk_ to a ghost. "All right." Danny folded his arms. "I'll listen to what you have to say."

"My name is Olivia Margon, designation Agent C." Her mouth pressed thin, and distaste shone in her eyes like the designation disgusted her. "I've worked with the Guys in White for many years now."

"We don't need your life story, lady," Skulker said in boredom.

"And I didn't come here to speak with a low level ghost," Agent Margon snapped coldly.

"Low level!" Skulker shouted, outraged by the insult, and the pair glared at each other.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Danny cut in, forcing himself between the two. "Skulker, if you're going to be disruptive, then I ask that you scout the area. Just in case she's lying about other agents not knowing about her coming here." Skulker grumbled, folding his arms and glaring off to the side. "Continue," Danny said as politely as he could.

Agent Margon took a moment to recollect herself. "As I was saying, I've worked for the Guys in White for many years now. I've been a field agent, fighting right on the front lines against violent ghosts. I've worked in the labs, seeing firsthand the weapons in development and the experiments done upon ghosts in our possession. I've worked my way up the ranks to get clearance to see quite a few of the nasty little secrets that our organization keep from the public."

"You mean like how they utilize the ghosts they've captured and release them in other cities to scare the residents then show up to save the day to gain the respect of the public then do it again and again when they want to reaffirm that the public needs them for protection against ghosts even though the ghosts they release aren't a real threat?" Danny questioned flatly, his green eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Among other things," Agent Margon agreed.

"And what? After all those years, you're having a change of heart and want to change sides?"

A cruel smirk curled upon her face. "Oh, Phantom, how do you expect to change the way the Guys in White operate from the outside?" Agent Margon shook her head, like his naivety amused her. "Do you think they'll change because your little group fighting for peace among humans and ghosts is trying to reach out to other cities? No, Phantom, I'll stay where I am in the Guys in White. I want to work from the inside to change the way we operate. I've already recruited a few cadets who are questioning the current mission of the Guys in White, which seems more about gaining money and world control in the ghost hunting market. They, like I, want to protect people from the violent ghosts while leaving the peaceful ghosts alone. We want to learn and understand more about ghosts without resorting to cruel experimentation. We want to form relations like what you and your group here have done."

"Okay," Danny said slowly, his brow creasing. "So why exactly did you come out here to talk to me?"

"To open a line of communication," Agent Margon held out a hand to him, "and hopefully build a good relation in the future between us. Not all of us in the Guys in White are corrupted by greed."

Danny stared hesitantly at the hand outstretched before him then glanced at the hunter beside him. Skulker shrugged, equally uncertain about everything that the woman told them. Finally, Danny took hold of her hand. "But," he leveled a glare at her, "if this is some sort of trick, don't expect us to take it lying down."

"I assure you it's not." Agent Margon smirked, her hand squeezing just a bit harder. "But I do like your fire." She released his hand then nodded to the pair of ghosts. "Until the next time we meet." With that, she turned on her heel and began walking back toward the boundary of the town.

"What do you think?" Danny asked Skulker once they were alone.

"I wouldn't trust her," Skulker said in deep thought. "But if she can actually change the Guys in White from the inside, it might be worth it."

Danny nodded because that was his thinking too. "I kind of hope she can do it."


	16. Wrong Phone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny prepares a lovely dinner for Vlad, which is nearly ruined by a small misunderstanding.

"Who is this?"

Danny twisted his head around as Vlad came into the kitchen. He frowned at the glower on his lover's face as he held up a cell phone. Danny's cell phone to be precise. His brow drew together, his own anger bubbling up inside him. "What are you doing going through my phone?" Danny demanded, waving the spatula in his hand at Vlad.

"It was an accident." Vlad strolled over to where Danny was preparing dinner for them, which looked just about ready. "I set my phone down next to yours when I came in and took off my coat. When I heard it buzz, I picked it up thinking it was mine." His mouth pressed together, and he lowered his gaze. "I know I have a tendency to get jealous. You're allowed to be friends with whomever you like. But usually, you at least tell me about your friends. So who exactly is Olivia Margon? And why are you keeping her a secret?"

His anger was boiling, but before he could start shouting at Vlad, Danny focused his attention on their dinner, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I wasn't trying to keep her a secret," he said tightly, hand squeezing around the spatula as he folded the potatoes. "I was going to tell you, but when you came home from your trip, you were so exhausted that you basically passed out in bed the second you walked into the house. Then you were gone in the morning, and we've both been at work, so I didn't really have a chance to talk to you about it all day. You only just walked in the door again. _When_ exactly was I supposed to tell you?" His eyes flashed briefly green when he shot a glare at the older half ghost.

Vlad placed the phone down on the counter then folded his arms. "I'm here now." His voice was calm, but his eyes were doubtful, like he was waiting for Danny to say he had fallen in love with someone else while he was away. That hurt Danny to see, to realize that some part of Vlad was still expecting to be abandoned and live the rest of his life alone.

Danny checked on the steaks to make sure they were cooked perfectly before shutting off the heat under them. Then he turned to Vlad and drew him into a fierce embrace. "Olivia Margon works for the Guys in White." He squeezed his arms tighter when Vlad tried to pull away. "She came into Amity Park to talk to me. Well, Phantom. She wants to open a line of communication between us because she's trying to work from the inside to change the Guys in White. _That's_ what I was going to tell you, and I didn't want to do it over the phone."

Vlad relaxed against him. "Do you really think she can be trusted?"

Danny sighed and nuzzled his head against Vlad's neck. "I don't know. That's why I wanted to talk to you about it. I think it wise to remain guarded. But if she's genuine about it and can make it happen, it would be really good for everyone." He pulled away from Vlad to get the plates for dinner.

"I admit that it is a pretty good plan," Vlad said, helping Danny serve up the food. A bowl of freshly made salad already sat on the dining table waiting for them. "If she works her way up to a high ranking position within the organization, she could have enough power to start changing some of the rules they follow in regards to their ghost hunting activity. If she has a good following supporting her, it would work even better."

Danny nodded as they walked over to the table and sat down. "She's been there for years working her way up. She said she recruited some cadets that don't quite support the way the Guys in White work."

Vlad hummed thoughtfully as he picked up the wine bottle that Danny put out to chill while he finished dinner. It was one of Vlad's favorite vintages. He poured a glass for each of them. "She sounds like a pretty wise woman. I think I'm beginning to like her." A wry smirk pulled across his face before he took a sip of his wine.

"So you think we should do this?" Danny lifted his eyebrows curiously as he sliced up his steak. "We should work with her?"

"With caution, of course," Vlad agreed. As he set down his wine glass, he glanced over the meal then lifted his gaze to Danny as one eyebrow arched upward. "This is a rather fancy supper. Is there any meaning behind it?"

"What?" Danny blinked owlishly at the man across the table, but inside he felt a flutter of panic. He had been working out how this evening should go all day long. The little misunderstanding about Olivia Margon hadn't exactly been a part of it, and now he felt a little thrown off his game. "No, not at all. I just," he shrugged, reaching for his glass of wine, "thought it would be nice. You know, you just came back from being out of town and all. I thought I would do something nice."

Vlad narrowed his eyes like he didn't quite believe Danny, but he seemed to decide against pushing the topic. He sliced off a bite sized chunk of his steak to eat. Danny relaxed only slightly as Vlad started talking about his trip and his meetings with the mayors. Of course, like they had predicted, the mayors barely listened to him, opting in the end to stick with the Guys in White.

"Well, maybe if her plan works, we won't have to worry as much about the Guys in White," Danny said, though he still doubted any major change would come to the organization in their lifetime. Olivia Margon had a very difficult job ahead of her, but she seemed up to the task.

"Perhaps one day, there will be a world where ghosts and humans can live in relative peace," Vlad agreed. "But until that day, we'll just have to keep working as we have been."

Danny nodded, and for a while, they ate in silence. His gaze shifted around the room as he debated how to started the topic that he had dreaded all day. The nervous twisting inside him made it difficult to eat because he kept feeling like each bite was going to be the last before it all came back up in a very unpleasant and embarrassing scene. Maybe he should have talked to Tucker and Dash more about this whole thing before leaping into it. But he already set things in motion with the nice romantic dinner, and he could see that Vlad was suspicious of his actions.

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?" Vlad questioned, concern entering his blue eyes as he frowned across the table. "It seems like you might have something on your mind."

Danny gulped and cursed himself for being too obvious. "No, no, of course not." He shook his head. "Yes." He winced and very nearly smacked himself in the head. This _really_ wasn't how he wanted to do things. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his gaze to Vlad, holding the older half ghost's eyes for a long while before speaking. "The thing is I love you, Vlad. I have ever since I was eighteen and you popped into my life and we started getting to know each other. I know we didn't meet under the best circumstances and we didn't exactly hit things off all that well right from the beginning. You _were_ hired to kill my dad after all. But after that, when we started talking to each other, I really liked the man I was getting to know. I want to be with you, now and forever." Danny reached into his pocket, his hand closing around a small velvet lined box.

Across from him, Vlad sat perfectly still, his eyes a touch wider, and his breath seeming to have caught somewhere inside him as he watched Danny pull out the box and open the lid to reveal a simple golden band. He didn't go for anything grand with unnecessary flourishes. He thought simple would be best.

"Danny-" Vlad shook his head.

"No, listen. I know we can't get married legally. I probably would have proposed ages ago if we could." Danny lowered his gaze, though that fact hadn't bothered him before, or at least, he thought it hadn't. "But there _is_ a way for us to marry each other. It may not be legal in the eyes of human law, but since we're half ghosts, we can go through a ghost marriage. Of course, this is all if you want to go through with it. I'll be fine with it if your answer is no. Vlad, will you marry me?"

If Vlad said no, Danny really believed he would be okay with that answer. They had been together this long without being married. It certainly wouldn't destroy their relationship if they continued as they were without getting married. But that didn't take away the nervousness gnawing at his sides and making him feel even sicker as he awaited an answer. When Vlad stood, Danny worried his lower lip, watching with wary blue eyes as Vlad walked around the table. Then Vlad cupped a hand to his cheek and leaned down, sealing their mouths together. Danny returned the kiss, tasting fine wine and savory steak upon his lover's lips.

Vlad smiled when he pulled away, still holding Danny's face in his hands. "The answer has always been yes." He leaned down for a second kiss that Danny smiled into, his heart skipping in his chest. They were engaged! It felt like some sort of dream, and if it was, Danny definitely didn't wake up because he was far too happy in this moment to let it be ruined by any other reality.


	17. Morning Bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now happily engaged, Danny has a pondering question for Vlad.

Danny smiled, hugging into his fluffy pillow, as the brush of lips slowly working their way up his bare back. He still felt like he was in heaven after proposing to Vlad last night. After they finished up their dinner, they spent the rest of the night simply enjoying each other's presence, curled up on the couch with a movie playing in the background. When it got late, they moved to the bedroom, and Danny smiled a touch wider as he recalled where things went from there. It was definitely a night he wouldn't forget.

"I can definitely get used to this," Danny said as he rolled over onto his back and stared at the older half ghost beside him, "if this is what being engaged feels like." He reached over, idly drawing doodles over Vlad's bare chest before his _fiancé_ caught hold of his hand, lacing their fingers together then turning over the hand to kiss the back of it. He almost still couldn't believe it. Fiancé! They were engaged, and it felt wonderful.

"It's not going to be all fun and games," Vlad murmured against the hand, giving it a light squeeze. "You still haven't told me everything that this ghost marriage entails. Normally, I wouldn't want to admit my lack of knowledge in certain areas. After all, I was a half ghost long before you were even born."

"Don't say that," Danny grumbled. Though he didn't have a problem with their difference in ages, it still felt weird sometimes when Vlad brought it up because it made him feel like he was a child again being lectured by his parents. And that just made being naked in bed with the man awkward.

A crooked smirk twitched upon Vlad's face before it vanished. "I merely meant that I thought I was quite knowledgeable in most things related to ghosts, but I see there was an area of that knowledge that I completely overlooked. I never really had a reason to explore anything in regards to marriage. I was alone, believing my one chance at happiness was snatched away from me by my best friend. Naturally, I would avoid the topic of marriage if it came up among ghosts. It would have been too painful at that time."

Danny nodded, his gaze lowering. He could understand why Vlad would avoid hearing about ghosts marrying back then. His gaze turned curiously to stare at the other half ghost out the corner of his eyes. "Do you ever miss it?"

Vlad blinked, baffled by the question. "Miss being alone?"

Danny shook his head, frowning at the misunderstanding. "No, I meant being a hit man. You did that for a living for a little over two decades. It must have been a big change to go from travelling around the world on assignments to being cooped up in one place and being the CEO of a company."

Vlad hummed thoughtfully, releasing his hold of Danny's hand to roll over onto his back. His arm bent as he folded it behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. "It is a vast difference. But it feels good to finally have a place to call home and actually be able to live in it for a more than a night. I had that castle in Wisconsin, but it was never truly a home. More just a symbol of the wealth I acquired doing my job. And that is all it was: a job. I didn't wake up each morning looking forward to killing another person. If anything, being a hit man helped me learn to distance myself from feeling anything. It was easy to take the pain and loneliness and misery and bury it all deep inside me during an assignment when I had to push away everything and focus on the target. That's probably what attracted me to being a hit man, other than the fact that my ghost powers made it quite easy to pull off hits. I could push away the anger at Jack and the idea of killing him a hundred different ways if I put all my focus into my latest assignment. I didn't give up being a hit man just because of you."

His blue eyes turned toward Danny and held the young man's gaze for several moments. "I gave it up because it no longer gave me anything. I had forgiven Jack and I had my friends back. I had someone I loved and could create a life with, just as I always wanted. But I think most importantly, I didn't want to be hired by the Guys in White ever again to knock out their competition. I had never given it much thought over the years, but the idea of being used by the Guys in White, or being threatened in the way your friend's mother was, disgusts me. I don't want to find myself in the position where I'm being paid to take down another ghost hunter simply because they don't subscribe to the same beliefs of the Guys in White, who are all mostly about money and power. I found I would much rather protect those people who are more interested in creating peace between ghosts and humans and protecting everyone from the more violent ghosts. It seemed a much better use of my time and ability."

Danny rolled his eyes at the comment about it not being just about him. "I was never even thinking that you stopped just because of me. But," a smile pulled across his face, "it does make me happy knowing that you're not going around killing innocent people for money anymore."

"I wouldn't say they were all innocent. There were a few terrorists on the list."

"Oh, sure," Danny muttered. "Pull the terrorist card. But I still won't approve the killing people portion of your job." He raised a hand for silence before Vlad could open his mouth to speak. "That's just how I feel. And that's all in the past anyway. I just wanted to be sure you weren't regretting anything or thinking you made a mistake changing your career."

Vlad shook his head. "I most certainly do not regret leaving behind that lonely life."

Danny reached over and pulled Vlad's head toward him. "And you'll never have to return to that lonely life." He kissed Vlad deeply, twisting the loose silver locks of his lover around his fingers as they threaded through his hair, and he wished they could remain like this all day, warm in each other's arms and sharing little kisses and caresses. He grinned into the kisses as some naughty little thoughts wormed their way into his mind. Unfortunately, those thoughts would have to wait until later. Their alarm was due to go off at any moment, forcing them to drag themselves out of bed and begin their day. Ah, work! Why did it have to rear its ugly head and interrupt such a wonderful morning? Danny would be happy to call in sick for the day, but he knew Vlad would give him that disapproving glare that said he better get his cute little butt out of bed and off to work. Danny settled for enjoying their kisses with his body pressed flush against Vlad and their hands skimming over each other's body, finding those little spots that only they knew about until the alarm finally rang, forcing them to break apart.


	18. A Bump in the Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny spends his day at Fenton Works and seeks some help from his sister.

"Ow!" Danny yanked back his hand, shaking it out before sucking on the flesh between thumb and index finger.

His father stuck his head around the machine, lifting up his goggles. "You okay, Son?" Worry shone in his eyes as he frowned.

"Yeah," Danny answered, pulling his hand from his mouth to check on the angry red spot. "Just pinched myself." He rubbed at the stinging spot. "So you think this'll work?" He glanced over the sleek silver vehicle with an eye of appreciation. His parents sometimes came up with crazy ideas for inventions - who would think a Thermos would act as a great way to capture ghosts? - but other times, they seemed to hit genius on their ideas. Danny rested a hand over the front of the vehicle, marveling at their five months of work coming together as a final product.

His father stared at the machine, too, with an eager light in his eyes, ready to try out the machine at that exact moment. "We haven't had much luck with the whole idea of sending probes into the Ghost Zone. I know we can just talk with ghosts or send you and Vlad in there to learn about the Ghost Zone, but it's one thing hearing about it and another to actually _see_ it. Your mom and I have dreamed about the day when we could actually go into the Ghost Zone and see it with our own eyes."

Danny smiled when he saw the look on his father's face, remembering it from years ago when his father would ramble on excitedly about ghosts and the Ghost Zone. He had found it embarrassing back then, his face growing red and burying his head in his hands whenever he and his friends were forced to listen to his father. Now it didn't bother him. He liked seeing how happy his father was about ghosts because he remembered the misery on his parents' faces when they believed he was dead. He didn't want to see his parents like that again.

"But," Danny frowned, eying the open Portal into the Ghost Zone, "you said the probes didn't work. Why do you think the Specter Speeder will?"

His father grinned brightly. "That, Danny, my boy, is where you and Vlad come in." He walked over and patted Danny on the back. "See, we have this theory. The Fenton Thermos didn't work until you first handled it. We think, maybe, if you infuse a bit of your energy into the Specter Speeder, that will allow it to pass into the Ghost Zone without being damaged." His grin fell into a frown. "Like those probes we tried to send in."

Danny considered the theory. "Well, it's worth a shot." He toss a grin toward his father. "Shall we give it a try?"

Excitement filled his father's expression. Then he shook his head. "Your mother would be very upset with us if we gave the old girl," he patted the Specter Speeder, "a go without her."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, I imagine she wouldn't happy about that." He wasn't about to go and do something to anger his mother. She could be frightening when upset, and Danny had seen firsthand how dangerous she could be in a fight.

His father glanced his way then dropped a hand onto his son's shoulder. "How is everything with the wedding planning? Not getting cold feet or anything?"

Danny shook his head with a fond smile playing upon his face. "Of course not. Thought it's been pretty hectic. There was Tuck and Sam's wedding too."

Danny laughed, remembering the bachelor party he threw for Tucker last Friday before the wedding on Sunday. He knew Sam wouldn't be happy with either of them if a stripper showed up at the party, so it was rather tame in comparison to some of the crazy things which could have happened. Dash complained about the party being lame and ducked out early, saying Jazz expected him home at an appropriate hour. Tucker seemed to enjoy the night, even if they mostly drank beer and watched some movies. It did sound a bit a lame, but Tucker wasn't looking for anything over the top with his party.

His wedding to Vlad wasn't for another few months, since they decided to delay it until after his friends' wedding and honeymoon and give them all some downtime before preparing for another wedding. As the day drew closer though, he did feel some nervousness. They had to get special permission to hold the ceremony outside the Ghost Zone and have human guests, which was completely unheard of for a ghost marriage. Up until then, Danny had only ever heard of Clockwork, and meeting the time ghost in person had made him more than a little nervous with his intimidating presence. Clockwork, apparently, oversaw every marriage between ghosts, officiating them in place of a human priest. Danny was glad Clockwork agreed to their unusual request because he couldn't imagine having their wedding without his family and friends present.

"We still have one little detail we're working on," Danny explained as he cleaned his hands on a rag. "But I'm sure we'll have it figured out by the time the wedding rolls around."

"Anything I can help with?" his father asked, following him up the stairs out of the laboratory.

Danny shook his head. "I'm sure we'll think of something, but right now, we just keep objecting to each other's idea." When he glanced his father's way, he caught the frown upon his face. "It's nothing to worry about. We aren't getting into some sort of fight or anything." He laughed as he grabbed a glass to pour himself some water. "It's just that he'll come up with something, but I won't like it. Then I'll come up with something, but he won't like it." Danny shrugged. "We're just having a difference of creative opinion."

"Well, if you're sure there's no problem between you," his father said with some uncertainty. While he hadn't always approved of their relationship in the beginning, finding age difference and his son just realizing he wasn't in fact dead to be issues, he eventually came around to support them. He didn't want to see anything come between his best friend and his son to split them up, wanting them to have a long happy life together.

"What's this about a problem?"

Danny turned around, a smile spreading onto his face when he saw his sister and mother entering the kitchen. "Jazz!" He paused on his way over and blinked, his eyes drawing to the small bump of her belly. "Wait. Are you-"

"Four months," Jazz said proudly as she placed a hand to her belly and smiled fondly.

"We were just getting a head start on some maternity clothes," their mother said, putting the few bags she carried on the kitchen table. "Never too early to start preparing."

"Dash went home to start setting up a nursery. He's really excited about the baby."

"Congrats!" Danny crossed the room to hug his sister, excitement bubbling up inside him. "Do you know if it'll be a boy or a girl yet?"

"We decided to let it be a surprise," Jazz answered as she sat down at the table. "But the doctor said everything is fine so far. No problems, baby looks healthy." She laughed. "Dash is constantly asking if I'm okay, if I want anything, if I need a foot massage. It's nice, but sometimes it can get a bit annoying. But he just to make sure I'm comfortable and that the baby's okay."

"Ah, this is a day that makes parents proud," his father said, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek. "Our son is getting married. Our daughter is expecting. Everyone is healthy and happy."

"And hopefully, we'll keep it that way." Jazz sent a meaningful look her brother's way. "Now what was that about a problem?"

Danny scratched at the back of his head before joining his sister at the table. "Remember that thing I mentioned the other week? Well, we have one idea we want to do." He rubbed at the inside of his left wrist. "But Clockwork said we need to have something meaningful for the wedding. You know, something that would really symbolize our union. Or something." He frowned when he remembered how easily Ember and Skulker came up with an idea for themselves when he talked to them. They weren't even engaged yet and they had an idea! It was frustrating because he couldn't think of anything that represented himself and Vlad together.

Jazz nodded, her brow scrunching up in thought. "I see your problem. Okay." She slapped her hands down on the table and pushed herself to her feet. "Let's grab some paper and start working out some ideas."

"So how come you didn't tell me until now that you were pregnant?" Danny asked, following his sister out of the kitchen while his parents worked on their dinner.

"Well, now the surprise is ruined." Jazz turned around and bopped her brother lightly on the forehead. "We were going to invite everyone over on Saturday to tell them the news. Then everyone finds out at once. I had only told Mom because, well, I'm freaking out a little about it. Like, what if I'm not a good mother?" The idea brought a terrified expression to her face.

With a light laugh, Danny patted his sister on the shoulder. "You're going to be an amazing mother. You've already had enough experience helping to raise me."

Jazz ruffled his raven hair with both hands, but she was smiling, seeming to have relaxed from her earlier worry. "Your flattery won't distract me from your current problem." She grabbed some paper from the cabinet under the television, along with some pencils, then sat down on the couch. Danny joined her, and they discussed ideas for his little wedding problem.


	19. No Happier Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big day has finally arrived, and Danny feels like a ball of nervous energy.

Danny almost couldn't believe it was finally the day of his wedding. He was nervous and excited all at once. Already he felt like he was going to sweat right through his suit, and the ceremony hadn't even begun yet. The usual outfit he wore when he took up the mantle of bodyguard for his father back when the Guys in White were trying to assassinate him wasn't exactly the most appropriate wedding attire. He spent some time learning how to alter his ghost appearance until he settled on a simple black tux for the occasion. Vlad had already decided on a matching white tux, and Danny had to grin a little to himself when he remembered Vlad had kept his ghost hair tied back in a ponytail ever since the first day Danny saw him as a ghost. They weren't allowed to see each other's wedding tuxes until the ceremony, but Danny imagined his husband-to-be looked quite dashing in the white tux.

"You look about as nervous I was," Dash said jokingly, giving Danny a slap on the back. He still had an awestruck look in his eyes whenever he glanced Danny's way, after learning Danny was Phantom. The first time Danny showed Dash, he thought for sure the former jock would pass out from shock. Since he was a part of the family now and would be attending the wedding, Danny thought it only fair to let Dash in on the secret. Vlad didn't quite trust the former jock with their secret, but Danny assured him Dash wouldn't reveal their secret to anyone. Especially since it would anger Jazz if he did, and Dash wasn't going to do anything to upset his wife.

"You have nothing to worry about," Tucker agreed as he checked his suit in the mirror. Naturally, Tucker was his best man. Vlad grumbled that he regretted choosing Jack as his best man after Jack nearly crushed him in a giant hug when he asked. "I know it seems scary," Tucker continued, throwing a grin toward his friend, "but once you get up there, you forget all about your nerves."

"And if you stumble or something, it's really not a big deal," Dash added, though it didn't give Danny a huge amount of courage. He didn't want to stumble and fall flat on his face during the wedding and look back onto it years later still feeling the embarrassment of that one moment.

When they heard a knock on the door, the three men turned as it cracked open enough for Jazz to peek into the room. "It's time," she announced with a bright smile.

"Okay," Danny said, smiling at his sister and the little bundle in her arms. "We're coming."

"Does Eric need his diapers changed?" Dash asked, hurrying over to his wife. Danny nearly laughed, seeing Dash being so caring and attentive toward his wife and newborn son. But he was also very happy for his sister. She had a husband who cared a great deal for her, and Danny couldn't help beaming proudly for his sister.

"So," Danny gave his friend a nudge, "are we going to hear news of a little one joining your family anytime soon?"

"I don't know." Tucker scratched at his cheek, his face red with embarrassment. "I think right now Sam wants to focus more on her career. But sometime down the road, I wouldn't mind having a little one of my own."

Danny grinned, trying to imagine what Tucker and Sam's child might look like. He couldn't see any child of Sam's growing up without a strong head on his or her shoulders. Sam could be quite frightening in a fight, and Danny was glad to never have been on her bad side. But he definitely believed Sam and Tucker could make great parents one day.

When he followed them out of the room he used to prepare for the wedding, Danny's nerves still hadn't left him. It was such a big day, not only for him and Vlad, but for the ghost community who had never had ghost wedding performed outside of the Ghost Zone and with either member still alive. They each had ghosts they knew and wanted to invite. Vlad had Technus and a few other ghosts Danny had only met on occasion. Danny had Skulker and Ember. They agreed to let Cujo play ring bearer, though Danny had to train the dog not to eat their specially crafted rings. Cujo would carry a little basket in his mouth which would hold the rings until they were ready for them.

The basement laboratory took Danny's breath away when he first saw it. Stepping into the laboratory felt like he had crossed through the Portal into the Ghost Zone. Vlad had gone all out for decorating the laboratory to give it the same eerie vibe as the Ghost Zone. His mother and sister sat up front, and Dash cradled little Eric in his arms, giving his wife a small break to relax and enjoy the wedding. Sam had a front row seat too, but her parents sat in the row behind her. Sometimes, it still surprised Danny to see the Mansons on good terms with his parents, but ever since everything that happened because of the Guys in White, they had gotten along and worked well beside each other to keep Amity Park safe.

Danny was still nervous when he stood in front of Vlad and the ceremony began. Vlad took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, and Danny relaxed a little, a tentative smile spreading onto his face. Danny hadn't been wrong about Vlad looking amazing in his white tux. For the most part, the wedding ceremony wasn't much different from a human wedding. Clockwork read from an ancient looking tome with pages so old they looked like they might crumble in his hands, speaking about love and the sanctity of marriage. Then he jumped straight to the vows because, "Who wants to sit here for hours listening to me read from a thousand year old book?" It gained a few chuckles from the guests, even Vlad and Danny cracked a smile. Neither of them liked the prospect of having to stand for hours.

"Do you, Daniel Fenton-Phantom and Vladimir Masters-Plasmius, take each other as husband for the rest of your lives? Do you agree to bind each other in union as one, giving to each other your heart and soul?" Clockwork asked in a dry, serious tone, though he seemed eager to hurry up the ceremony so they could get to the reception.

"I do," Danny and Vlad said together, their eyes holding each other. Cujo barked around the handle of the basket in his mouth, standing up on his back feet and balancing against Danny's leg. "Good, dog," Danny said quietly as he patted Cujo on the head then picked up the rings from where they rested. Vlad took the one he was to give to Danny then held the young half ghost's left hand with the ring poised before Danny's finger. It was a simply band made of pink energy.

"I promise to love you and care for you for as long as we live," Vlad said as he slipped the ring onto Danny's finger.

A shiver ran through him as the energy from the ring dissolved, filling in the predetermined design they had prepared prior to the wedding. Making their guests sit around while they tattooed their energy onto each other's body wasn't exactly the norm for a wedding. Last night, the pair met with Clockwork, who set the pattern onto their bodies as a marker, which would guide their energies to the spot where their chosen design would burn into their skin after they exchanged their rings crafted of their own energies. A quick glow of pink shined from under the left shoulder of Danny's tux where he chose to have their symbol tattooed. After much debating, they decided on a shield and dagger to symbolize their union. The shield represented Danny and his desire to protect while the dagger reflected Vlad's past as a hit man and his sharp mind.

"I promise to cherish every moment we share together and to never stray from you," Danny said and copied Vlad by slipping the bright green ring onto Vlad's finger. It sat there for a moment before dissolving and the green glow showed briefly beneath his white suit. They were joined forever now. Even if they had to part for any reason, they would always have a connection to one another. A bond which could never be destroyed.

"Then I pronounce you joined as one, now and forever," Clockwork said. "You may kiss."

They stepped in close to each other, and Vlad brushed a hand over Danny's cheek and slid it back, his fingers carding through white hair. Leaning in, their lips met in a gentle but chaste kiss, which earned them cheers and applause from their guests. When they broke apart, Danny bit his lower lip but couldn't stop the wide smile from stretching across his face. He and Vlad were officially married, surrounded by friends and family, and he couldn't think of anything to make this moment better.


End file.
